Nigerians have raised some funds for the InDrive driver, James Oluwatosin Ogunsanwo, who a Lagos lady accused of organising men to rob her after his car broke down along Ikorodu Road.
A lady who used Ogunsanwo’s service took to X (Twitter) to accuse him of organising men to rob her after he pretended that his car broke down.
The lady who uses the X handle, @big_Itohan, said she was robbed by three men who came out of nowhere after the driver parked by the roadside.
She alleged that the levers for opening the doors from inside had broken, so it was impossible for her and her friend to leave the car.
Itohan further claimed that she had to climb out through the driver’s side.
Her sensational accusation was instantly backed by another X user, @amina_OD, who claimed that her student was robbed by the same driver recently around Chevron.
She wrote: “He robbed my student at Chevron on Sunday. He acted like his car was faulty, parked, and the thieves came out. Y’all be safe”.
InDriver saw the story online and sacked Ogunsanwo.
James Oluwatosin Ogunsanwo defends himself
The accused driver has since come out to defend himself. In a video he posted, he traced the genesis of the incident.
The driver said the light on the car’s dashboard and the headlights went off on motion, and he managed to get the car to the service lane, leveraging its speed.
He claimed that area boys came to him while fixing the car after calling his rewire to ask for advice, but he told them he had only N1000, while they asked for N20,000.
Ogunsanwo claimed the men left him and concentrated on Itohan after she intervened to say that the amount they were demanding was too much.
He said she continued to negotiate with them while he continued to work on his car until it started working.
The driver said Itohan negotiated to pay N8000 to the touts, and the touts only allowed them to drive off after she did the transfer to them.
He claimed the ladies never complained to him until he dropped them off and that he was surprised to find that they had taken to X to call him a robber.
When netizens heard his side of the story, they started grilling Itohan, who then admitted that she transferred money to the boys.
She also said the boys gave her an option to be robbed or to transfer money to them, and she chose the latter.
Many netizens found fault with this explanation. They wondered why she did not say that when she reported that she was robbed the previous day.
Itohan was accused of falsely maligning a man who was only trying to earn a living through an honest job.
Many Nigerians started dragging Itohan, who also defended herself. She faulted some of the claims made by Ogunsanwo, especially where he mentioned how the girls were dressed.
She wrote: “(He) Added maybe because the way they dressed so Nigerians can sympathise with you. Can we both settle this in station since i’m lying.
Three guys came, asked me to choose between making a transfer or getting robbed in Yoruba. You sat in your car, even when they finished i literally…
Was begging you to start your ride. Your car didn’t break down, you said the headlight had issues in the midst of our conversation, and almost immediately, you parked. I said can we go to a bright area, you parked!! I tried coming out, no inside door in three places…Except for yours, I quickly came down from your driver’s seat. Tried opening my friend’s door from outside but nothing. So if you’re not an accomplice, i think we know the right place to narrate our both stories.
And my friend wore a jumpsuit with a scarf, and I wore a gown reaching Below my knee at least. So, how was I dressed?
You sat comfortably in your car when these guys were asking me to choose between getting robbed or making a transfer.”
Some Nigerians are now calling for justice for James Oluwatosin Ogunsanwo while raising funds for him to be able to meet legal costs and feed himself until he is reinstated.
So far, N87,000 has been sent to him by sympathisers, many of whom have also bombarded InDrive with demands for the reinstatement of the driver.
Hear Ogunsanwo here.
