Police in Lagos have arrested a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) driver, Collins Nnodi, who went into hiding after running into a businesswoman, Grace Okeleke, at Agric bus stop in Ikorodu area of the state.
The victim, who was the wife of Head of Public Relations, Globacom, Andrew Okeleke, attempted to cross the road on Monday, May 11 after being dropped off by her driver around 7.20pm, when Mr Nnodi, who was driving a bus with number plate EPE 59 XR, knocked her down and sped off.
Mrs Okeleke died on the spot.
An angry mob then proceeded to vandalise some BRT buses plying the route. Police intervention brought normalcy in the area.
Chief Security Officer, Primero Transport Services Limited, the franchise holder of the BRT buses, Cletus Okodolor, had chided the driver for abandoning the victim at the scene of the crash.
While also commiserating with the deceased’s family, Mr Okodolor had said a manhunt was on to apprehend the driver who abandoned the BRT bus at the firm’s office with the engine running.
Okodolor, however, told Punch on Monday that the fleeing driver had been arrested, adding that his guarantor facilitated his arrest.
“Initially, the family of the victim thought we were hiding the busman, but we don’t do that and we disassociate ourselves from what the busman did. Why would he run? What we told them was that if an accident occurs, they should report at the nearest police station,” he said.
“We were able to apprehend the fleeing busman on Friday and we took him to the police station. We arrested him through his second guarantor, whom we told the implication of what he did. So, he cooperated and he even said the busman did not inform him about the incident.”
Lagos police spokesman, Bala Elkana, also confirmed the arrest.
