Hit-and-run rider kills drunken contractor during Sallah

A contractor, identified simply as Arthur, died on Sunday morning in Idimu, Lagos, after he was hit by a yet-to-be-identified motorcyclist the previous evening. PUNCH Metro learnt that 47-year-old Arthur, an indigene of Edo State, had gone out on Saturday to celebrate the festive period with his friends in the Igando area of Lagos.Our correspondent gathered that the deceased, who was a contractor with an aluminum firm, had gone out in company with a friend, identified simply as Charles. The duo was said to have visited about four residences where they reportedly got drunk...

On their way home, Arthur was said to have been hit by an okada rider around Hotel bus stop on the Igando-Iyana Iba Road at about 8pm.He was said to have been abandoned at the spot all night without any medical attention till the following morning.Our correspondent gathered that the following day, Charles returned to the spot and then rushed his friend to a private hospital at Car Wash bus stop, Idimu, Lagos, where he eventually died. It was learnt that the case was reported at the Area M Police Command and Charles was said to have been arrested and was being interrogated by the police.When our correspondent got to the command on Tuesday, some relatives and friends of the deceased were overheard discussing the death. They wondered why passersby did not help Arthur to a nearby hospital for prompt treatment after he was hit by the runaway cyclist.A friend, who craved anonymity, said, “Arthur had come in company with Charles to my house on Saturday. I did not know the deceased before then. Charles is my friend, as his shop is next to mine. All of us sat to drink. We had several drinks. Later, the two of them left my place.

“The following morning, I heard the man was found lying unconscious on the road. Some passersby then hinted us that he had been hit by a motorcyclist and abandoned. I don’t know where Charles was throughout that night. But in the morning, we rushed Arthur to the hospital where he later died. For me, the only negligence I see was that he got drunk and an okada rider had hit him. But if he had been taken to the hospital that evening, I don’t think all of us would be coming to this station now.”A relative of the deceased, who did not give her name, said Arthur’s wife and only child were staying in Benin, Edo State.She said, “He and his wife have a 12-year-old child. His wife and the child stay in Benin, Edo State. Arthur is not a Muslim. He had gone out with his friends for the celebration. When we got wind of the incident on Sunday morning, we went to the hospital, but we did not meet the doctor on duty. So we have yet to hear from the doctor. If he had been rushed to the hospital that evening for treatment, I believe he would not have died.”

When our correspondent got to the hospital where Arthur died, a doctor on duty, while confirming the incident, said his body had been deposited in a morgue.She said, “We tried to resuscitate him, but his condition had become very critical. He was rushed here on Sunday morning and he died here. At the moment, his body has been deposited in a morgue. I cannot disclose to you what we diagnosed as the cause of his death unless a relative comes with you.”The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Kenneth Nwosu, said he would call our correspondent back, but had yet to do so as of press time.