By Ade Oyeyemi
The Kwara State Police Command has launched a manhunt for the driver and motor boy of a Conoil truck over the death of a student of Kwara State Polytechnic, Ilorin, whose body was allegedly handed over to the truck crew after a road incident.
The deceased, identified as Sheu, reportedly went missing on Friday after borrowing a motorcycle from his brother to purchase clothes for his side business.
His family’s search for him later led to the discovery of his body on a bridge in the Oko-Olowo area of Ilorin, where it had initially been treated as that of an unidentified person and buried.
The state Commissioner of Police, Ojo Adekimi, confirmed the development on Tuesday, saying efforts were underway to apprehend the truck driver and his assistant.
“Yes, we are trying to arrest the drivers now,” Adekimi told journalists.
The commissioner explained that the body was initially classified as unidentified after it was recovered from a bridge. Police subsequently sent a photograph to the deceased’s family for identification, leading to the exhumation of the remains.
“We later discovered an abandoned corpse on top of a bridge and sent the picture to the family of the deceased for identification.
“But before then, it was classified as an unknown corpse and had to be buried. The body was later exhumed, and they confirmed it was him,” he said.
A relative of the deceased said the family became worried after Sheu failed to return home with the borrowed motorcycle. The relative added that the motorcycle’s owner called the student’s phone after 9pm, but an unidentified person answered.
According to the relative, another voice was heard questioning why the call had been answered before the line went dead. Further attempts to reach Sheu reportedly failed, prompting the family to intensify its search.
The family alleged that a tricycle operator identified as Basit, who reportedly witnessed the incident, took the injured student to the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, where he was confirmed dead.
Basit allegedly claimed to be the deceased’s brother before taking custody of the body and handing it over to the Conoil truck crew.
Adekimi confirmed that the tricycle operator had been arrested. He reportedly admitted handing the body to the truck driver but claimed he did not know what happened to it afterwards.
The family said it wanted investigators to establish the circumstances surrounding the transfer of the body and determine whether the operator acted out of ignorance or for financial gain.
READ ALSO
- Terrorists attack military post, soldiers feared dead
- Student’s Death: Police launch manhunt for Conoil truck crew
- One killed as hoodlums attack Oriyomi Hamzat’s welcome party in Ibadan
- Wisdom in replacement of foolishness – 3
- Airport police arraign ground handler over fake military helicopter claims
“We want justice and to establish whether the operator handed over the body out of ignorance or for financial gain. The Commissioner of Police has directed that they produce the drivers of the Conoil truck,” the relative said.
The family also disclosed that the motorcycle borrowed by the deceased was later found at the Kulende Police Station during the search for him.
