Mob lynches popular okada rider in Akure

By Boye Oyeyemi –

Residents of the Ajipowo area of Akure, the Ondo State capital, were thrown into panic on Thursday after a commercial motorcyclist, Tunde Ilesanmi, popularly known as “Dudu,” was beaten to death in a mob attack.

Eyewitnesses said the middle-aged rider was accused of joining two men in an overnight robbery.

The suspects reportedly fled, leaving him at the mercy of angry residents.

He was lynched on the street by those who insisted he was part of the criminal gang.

The situation changed when the victim’s relatives arrived and argued that he was not a robber but a well-known rider in the Ajipowo community.

Hundreds of commercial motorcyclists, angered by the killing of their colleague, stormed the area in protest, blocking major roads and causing tension.

The area was deserted for hours as fear gripped residents until policemen intervened to disperse the crowd and restore calm.

The body of the deceased was later evacuated, while normalcy gradually returned to the neighbourhood.