Residents abandon hit-and-run victim to die

A young man who was crushed by a hit-and-run driver in Lagos on Thursday was left without help by residents of Oja bus stop, along the Egbeda-Idimu Road, in the Alimosho Local Government Area. It was said after battling to stay alive in a pool of blood, the victim died hours later.The man, who was said to be in his twenties, was hit at about 1pm and reportedly died around 4pm...

When PUNCH Metro visited the area on Friday, many of the residents defended their actions, saying the man in question was mentally ill.A trader around the vicinity, identified simply as Ifeanyi, said after being hit, the man was bleeding from nose and mouth and was writhing in pain.“I saw him when he was still alive, at about 2pm. He was laying there, bleeding from his nose and mouth and was shaking, as if to say he was struggling to move. I heard he died about two to three hours later,” he said.Another trader around the vicinity explained that the driver who knocked him down escaped almost immediately and that some policemen were on ground controlling traffic when the incident happened.According to him, the policemen called for an ambulance, but the man died before the ambulance eventually arrived.The trader who pleaded anonymity said, “I saw the man early on Thursday morning before the incident. He was sitting by the roadside having breakfast.“He looked to me like he was mad. Later in the afternoon, I saw him on the ground, in a pool of blood. I was told that a hit-and-run driver had knocked him down.I also heard that the policemen who usually control traffic here had called for an ambulance. I saw the ambulance when it arrived, but he was already dead. So, the ambulance left without taking the corpse.”

Our correspondent could not speak with any of the policemen at the time of visiting the area on Friday as he was told that they had left the vicinity as a result of the downpour on that day.But a car dealer in the area, who identified himself as David said that he has made efforts to contact the relevant authorities to evacuate the body from the area.“I have called the 767 Lagos emergency numbers over two hours ago and a lady answered, saying a unit would come immediately to remove the body but I have yet to see anybody, and as you can see, the body is still here. If it should stay here till tomorrow (Saturday), it will begin to smell and that would be dangerous to health,” he said.Our correspondent later learnt that the body was removed at about 7pm on Friday evening.The Deputy Police Public Relations Officer, Lelma Kolle, promised to call our correspondent back with reaction on the incident. However, he had yet to so as of press time.