Aged 21, killed a police sergeant during a stop and search in Lagos

A 21-year-old driver, Olumide Olushola, is accused of hitting and killing a police sergeant, Johnson Okediji, during a stop and search operation in the Egbeda area of ​​Lagos State.

Olushola, who was paraded at the Lagos State Police Command headquarters in Ikeja on Monday, was said to have hit the police officer with his car, a Lexus ES 350 and dragged him along the road for several metres, before he was stopped.

The suspect denied intentionally hitting the officers on the grounds that the car’s brakes failed.

Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Fatai Tijani, said in a press briefing that the incident occurred at around 2.20pm on Saturday, September 26, 2026, along Olugbede Road, Egbeda.

According to CP, police officers on stop and search duty flagged down the Lexus, with registration number FKJ 223 KX, being driven by Olushola, but he allegedly sped off when Sergeant Okediji approached the driver’s side, thus hitting the officer.

Tijani said, “The driver initially stopped but suddenly sped off when Sergeant Johnson Okediji approached the driver’s side. The officer fell and was dragged under the vehicle for several meters despite repeated attempts by police officers and passers-by to stop the driver.

“The driver was eventually pursued and arrested. The officer suffered multiple fractures and serious head injuries.”

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The CP said the sergeant was rushed to a nearby hospital and later referred to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival.

Tijani added that the body of the deceased officer had been kept at the Mainland Hospital Mortuary for preservation and autopsy, while the vehicle had been taken to the police station.

However, while speaking during the parade, Olushola denied intentionally knocking over the officer, stating that the brakes on his vehicle had failed.

The suspect said he saw the police officer ahead and was preparing to stop when the sergeant moved in front of his vehicle.

He admitted that the vehicle hit the officer and dragged him when he tried to stop it.

“I tried to stop the vehicle. The vehicle did not stop. That’s when the vehicle hit another vehicle in front. That’s when I fell with the person sitting next to me,” he said.

Olushola said he had been using the Lexus for about a month and took it to a repair shop the day before the incident after noticing a problem with the brakes.

“I took the vehicle to the repair shop the day before that day. I told the mechanic to replace all the brake linings on the vehicle, and the mechanic told me he had replaced all the brake linings,” he said.

However, he admitted that he saw that his brakes were still slipping after buying fuel on the day of the incident.

Asked why he continued driving after realizing the problem, Olushola said he planned to return the vehicle to a mechanic later that day.

The suspect, who admitted to selling cellphones, gadgets and laptops, expressed regret over the officer’s death.

“I’m very sorry for hitting an officer of the law. I’m very sad about it,” he said.

Olushola also claimed that the Lexus belonged to his mother, who had acquired it months earlier, and that she helped him drive it.

Police said an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the sergeant’s death is ongoing.