A young man, identified as Hassan, has been hospitalized after he was hit by a vehicle while he was trying to extort money from a motorist.
The incident happened on Saturday at Moshalashi Bus Stop, in the Ipaja area of Lagos State.
According to the Punch, the victim was in the habit of extorting money from motorists whose vehicles broke down on the road.
A resident, Badmus Oriade, told the newspaper: “He is well known in the Ipaja neighbourhood. A delivery vehicle broke down here at Ipaja on Friday. When the owners of the delivery van came with mechanics to get their vehicle off the road, he accosted them and tried to extort money from them but they refused to pay and he threw a bottle at them.
“He ran away when the owners of the delivery van chased him. Unfortunately, as he tried to cross the median to the other side of the road, he tripped and fell. An oncoming commercial bus driver hit him and while people converged around him to resuscitate him, the driver escaped.”
Oriade said men of the Lagos State Ambulance Service who were on their way to another location saw the victim, gave him first aid and then took him to a hospital.
The Director General of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, Dr Olufemi Oke-Sanyaolu, confirmed the incident in a statement.
He said, “While heading back to base, the agency’s response team sighted an adult male who appeared to have been hit by a vehicle.
“He was discovered lying in a pool of blood. The plan was activated and the LASAMBUS unit was dispatched from the control room.”