A couple of days after Johnson Okediji, a police sergeant, was crushed by a car during stop-and-search operation at the Egbeda area, a female police inspector, Mercy Bassey, has died after she was reportedly knocked down by a hit-and-run driver while on route-lining duty ahead of the arrival of President Bola Tinubu in Lagos on Tuesday.
Lagos Today Extra! gathered
that Bassey was
hit by a black Highlander Sport Utility Vehicle. According to eye-witnesses, the
deceased officer, who was attached to the Ikotun Divisional Police Station, was
crossing the Third Mainland Bridge at the Adekunle Intersection, inward Lagos
Island, when the incident occurred.
A source
who pleaded anonymity said the incident happened while Bassey was deployed for
route-lining duty for the presidential movement.
The
source added that the registration number of the SUV and the identity of its
driver were unknown.
The
source said, “At about 2:30pm, while on route lining for the Presidential
movement, Inspector Mercy Bassey, attached to Ikotun Divisional Police Station,
Lagos, was hit by a black Highlander SUV while crossing the Third Mainland
Bridge at Adekunle Intersection, inward Lagos Island, Lagos.
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“The
registration number of the vehicle and the driver are not yet known. The
vehicle sped off after hitting the officer. The vehicle was chased by patrolmen
on duty but escaped to an unknown destination.”
The
source said the policewoman was rushed to the General Hospital, Ebute Metta,
for treatment but reportedly died while awaiting treatment.
“The
victim was rushed to General Hospital, Ebute Metta, but later died while
awaiting treatment. The corpse will be moved to a morgue in Yaba for
preservation,” the source added.
When
contacted for a reaction, the spokesperson for the Lagos State Police Command,
Abimbola Adebisi, confirmed the incident but declined to comment further.
“We
don’t want to comment on the matter at the moment,” she said.
A few days earlier, Johnson Okediji, a police
sergeant, was crushed by a car during stop-and-search operation at the Egbeda
area of Lagos state.
The
incident occurred along Olugbede street on September 26, 2026.
Speaking
during a news conference on Monday, Fatai Tijani, the Lagos police
commissioner, said on the day of the incident, officers on stop-and-search duty
asked a Lexus ES 350 driven by Olusola Olumide, a 21-year-old phone seller, to
pull over.
Tijani
said Olumide initially brought the car to a halt but suddenly sped off as the
sergeant approached the steering wheel.
The
Lagos police commissioner said the sergeant was knocked down and his body
dragged under the moving vehicle.
Tijani
further relayed that the driver refused to stop the vehicle despite efforts
from police officers and passersby.
“The
driver was eventually chased and arrested. The officer sustained multiple
fractures and serious head injuries,” the Lagos police commissioner said.
“He
was taken to the nearby hospital and subsequently referred to LASUTH, where he
was unfortunately pronounced dead on arrival.”
Tijani
said the trend of drivers speeding off when asked to pull over during
stop-and-search operations has become worrisome.
Narrating
what transpired, Olumide said the car developed brake failure and that he could
not stop the vehicle.
The
driver said just days before the incident, he took the car to the mechanic to
replace the brake pad.
“My
car brake failed and I accidentally ran over the officer. I was about to park,
but there was a slip and I hit the car in front of me. I couldn’t stop the
car,” Olumide said.
“I
took the car to the mechanic to change the brake pad, and he told me that he
had changed it. The next day, I went to buy fuel before I saw the officers.”
Olumide
added that police officers at the checkpoint knew him and were aware that he
had not deliberately hit the deceased officer.
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