20-year-old phone seller arrested after fatally hitting Lagos police sergeant, says brake failure caused crash

• A 20-year-old phone seller, Olusola Olumide, has been arrested after a Lagos police sergeant died after being hit by his Lexus during a stop-and-search.

• Police say Olumide sped off as Sergeant Johnson Okediji approached his vehicle, while Olumide says brake failure caused the crash.

• The sergeant died after suffering multiple fractures and serious head injuries, with an autopsy expected as investigations continue.

A 20-year-old phone seller, Olusola Olumide, has been arrested after a police sergeant died during a stop-and-search operation in Lagos, but Olumide says the crash was an accident caused by brake failure, not an attempt to flee.

The incident happened on September 26 at about 2:20 pm along Olugbede Street in Egbeda, when police officers on duty signalled his Lexus ES 350, marked FKJ 223 KX, to stop.

According to the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Fatai Tijani, Olumide initially complied but then sped off as Sergeant Johnson Okediji approached the driver's side. Tijani said the officer was knocked down and dragged underneath the car for several metres, despite efforts by other officers and passers-by to get the driver to stop. Olumide was chased down and arrested shortly after.

Okediji sustained multiple fractures and serious head injuries. He was rushed to a nearby hospital and later referred to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

Speaking afterward, Olumide gave a different account of what happened. He said his brakes failed as he tried to park, causing him to hit a car in front of him and, in the process, hit the officer, who was standing in his path.

"My car brake failed and I accidentally ran over the officer. I was about to park, but there was a slip and I hit a car in front of me. He was in front, and I couldn't stop the car," he said.

Olumide said he had only owned the vehicle for a month, and that he'd taken it to a mechanic the day before to have the brake pads changed. He said he'd been told the work was done, and that he only realised something was still wrong with the brakes after stopping at a fuel station, moments before the officers signalled him to stop.

He also said the officers at the scene knew him personally. "The police officers know me, and they know I didn't do it deliberately. I regret hitting an officer of the law. I'm pained that he's dead," he said.

Police say Olumide's vehicle has been recovered, and Okediji's remains have been deposited at the Mainland Hospital Mortuary for preservation and an autopsy. The case is expected to form part of an ongoing investigation.

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Addressing the incident, Tijani said the command would continue to protect officers carrying out lawful duties, while also holding its own personnel to account where necessary. "

The Command will continue to protect our personnel who are lawfully carrying out their duties, just as we will continue to hold accountable any personnel whose conduct falls short of the standards expected of a police officer," he said. The case was disclosed as part of the command's broader report on its activities for September.