BENIN CITY- It has been serious crisis since last two weeks Saturday, after a teenage girl (name withheld) was crushed to death in the suburb of Ikeja after a truck heading to computer village to discharge goods accidentally rammed into her due to break failure.
According to our Crime Correspondents, after the accident, the young truck driver, Ada Festus, who is also a part-time under-graduate student of the Lagos State University, knowing the gravity of driving with expired driving license immediately dispatched his motor boy to report to the nearest police station. But before the intervention and arrival of the police, the angry mobs, (area boys) who noticed the accident and the eventual death of the young girl pounced on the driver, almost beating him to stupor.
Luckily for Festus the police arrived at exactly the time the mobs were planning to burn him alive. It was during the scuffle between the angry mobs and the policemen; he got the opportunity to escape. When it was done on the area boys that the driver had escaped, they then set the truck and the whole goods comprising of computer accessories, Lap tops and GSM Hand sets worth 25million naira conveyed in it on fire.
Unfortunately, when Festus could not be found, at the arrival of Alhaji Musa,Tanko, who is the Managing Director of the Musa & Sons Haulage Company, owners of the goods, was very angry. In tears he vowed to make Festus pay with his life. But when all efforts to track him down anywhere in Lagos failed, they held on to the motor boy. The Alhaji accompanied by some of his guard thugs and police moved down the motor-boy to locate his family house in Benin City.
According to a very close reliable source who wouldn’t want his identity revealed, said on getting to Ada family house, there was a serious and heated argument between the family members of Festus and the Alhaji saying the Alhaji must provide their son (Festus). In the ensuing melee that resulted in fracas, one of Festus’ cousins was killed and his family retaliated by snuffing life out of one of the Alhaji’s men.
Before leaving the scene, the Alhaji’s men seeing their member dead immediately set the Festus family house ablaze and fled before the arrival of the area boys and vigilante group members in the area. However, when contacted, the State Police Acting PRO, DSP, Joseph Ediagbonya was said to be away on official meeting. But an anonymous Police source revealed that the matter is still under investigation, while the escapee suspect, Ada Festus has been declared wanted by the Police.
The source also added that the incident has been announced on radio, the suspect’s photograph published and also flashed on television. It was also revealed that the police, in desperate search for the young man, has placed a handsome reward of N1m on any successful informant that can lead to his arrest. Ada Festus was described as about 5feet 6inches tall, not too slim, with round face, broad lips, short goaty beards and always on low cut. He speaks Edo and English Languages fluently.
