Panic gripped residents of the Ikotun area of Lagos State after suspected armed robbers posing as passengers shot dead a commercial tricycle rider identified simply as Festus.
The incident occurred along Governor’s Road when three men boarded Festus’ tricycle from the Odo Eran area.
Midway to their destination, at Anishere Bus Stop, the suspects reportedly pulled out a gun in an attempt to snatch the vehicle.
An eyewitness, Femi Adegbenro, said Festus resisted, prompting the assailants to shoot him in the head.
They allegedly dumped his body by the roadside before fleeing with the tricycle.
Some of Festus’ colleagues later found his remains and reported the incident to the Idimu Police Station. His body was subsequently released to his family for burial.
A fellow tricycle rider, who gave his name only as Kayode, said the deceased had previously been attacked in a similar manner. “His first tricycle was stolen this way.
He only recently obtained this one on hire,” he said.
The Lagos State Police Command spokesperson, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, could not be reached for comment as of press time.
The killing comes less than two months after a separate incident in which a tricycle rider died following a head-on collision with an SUV allegedly driving against traffic in the Oko-Afo area of the state.