A celebrated Bolt driver, Ezekiel Godwin, got a raw deal from a lady customer on Monday morning as he was slapped and beaten up for asking for payment.
Narrating his ordeal in a video recording of the incident shared by a colleague, Godwin said he picked the young lady from Banana Island and she said she was going to Number 13 Gerard, Ikoyi.
He said it turned out that the address was not correct and he drove along.
He said the lady who was all along on the phone, suddenly asked him to stop, but because a vehicle was behind him, he could not brake suddenly. He said he complained to her that it was not a safe practice to shout that a driver should stop while in motion, and with another vehicle following behind.
He said the lady disembarked as soon as he stopped and she started walking away, prompting him to run after her to remind her she had not paid him.
An altercation then ensued as the lady allegedly said she would not pay because he touched her.
Godwin said the lady, slapped him, while the police man guarding the house she was going to beat him up after he refused to stop recording.
The Bolt driver said the elder sister of the young lady intervened and remembered him from similar service he rendered over two years ago.
Godwin said the lady even remembered his name and pleaded with him to accept N1000 for the trip that actually cost N800.
The Bolt driver said he did not collect the money because of the humiliation and the threat from the police.
One person reacting to the story on Twitter said she remembered the Bolt driver from his voice, and gave a very good account of the driver.
The woman identified as @NatashaOfLagos tweeted:
“I know this man. His name is Mr Godwin. He is NOT problematic in any way shape or form. He’s a soft-spoken person; his service was so top notch that I made a video about it on my twitter. It’s clear that this lady just didn’t want to pay. I’m so pissed rn. This is sad.”
Indeed, Godwin was an internet sensation in 2019 when riders who had used his service took to the social media to celebrate him.
He was reputed for providing his riders with free Wi-Fi that they could use while commuting with him. He also stocked his car with snacks and drinks for customers who cared for it.
In July 2019, he was rewarded with gifts worth N150,000 by Bolt for representing the core values of the organisation.
MSN learnt that the family of the lady has reached out to the Bolt driver with a view to compensating him.
Calls made by MSN to Godwin to find out if he had resolved the issue with the family were not picked by the time of filing this report.
Watch the video of some of the altercation below:
@Boltapp_ng this is what we ur drivers face each and everyday. There is no denying there are bad riders but my question is why is it that female riders are always giving issues everytime. May we not encounter unfortunate human beings like this when we step out to make money pic.twitter.com/FYjc1hEJLb
— SarZ (@hassansasman) June 21, 2021
