On Wednesday, an official of Amalgamated Commercial Motorcycle Owners and Riders Association of Nigeria (ACOMORAN) punched a commercial motorcyclist, popularly known as ‘Okada rider’ to death over his refusal to pay the mandatory daily union ticket of N150.
According to reports, the official simply identified as Saheed had stopped the victim who was identified as Ibrahim Raji at Iyana – Mortuary area of Abeokuta metropolis and demanded for his ticket which he could not produce. Raji was said to have argued with Saheed, insisting that he was a bricklayer going to work and not an okada man’ that would obtain the ACOMORAN’s daily ticket.
His refusal to pay for the ticket, however, infuriated Saheed who later dragged him down from his motorcycle and punched him on the forehead which made him fall into the drainage channel and died. According to an eyewitness, the ACOMORAN official was wearing a locally made magic ring (juju) which allegedly killed Raji.
Saheed and other ACOMORAN officials present at the scene later rushed the 33 years old Raji to the nearby Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Idi-Aba, Abeokuta where he was confirmed to have been dead before getting to the hospital. The development, however, forced other commercial motorcyclists present at the scene to gang up to stage protest against the ACOMORAN ticketing officials in Abeokuta metropolis.
Hundreds of okada riders protested Raji’s death around major streets of Abeokuta and demanded that Governor Ibikunle Amosun should immediately withdraw the ticketing officials from the roads.
Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Ogun State, Abimbola Oyeyemi confirmed the incident, saying that the culprit had been arrested. He said the Commissioner of Police, Ahmed Iliyasu has ordered that the case be transferred to the homicide section of the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) for discrete investigation and possible prosecution of the suspects.
Tags
Crime