Lagos police inspector dies after hit-and-run during presidential route duty

Police Inspector Mercy Bassey has died after being struck by a hit-and-run vehicle while deployed for route-lining duty ahead of President Bola Tinubu’s arrival in Lagos, a security source told PUNCH. The source said Bassey, who was attached to the Ikotun Divisional Police Station, was hit by a black Highlander sport utility vehicle at the Adekunle Intersection on the Third Mainland Bridge, inward Lagos Island. The incident reportedly occurred at about 2:30pm on Tuesday as security personnel prepared for the presidential movement.

The vehicle’s registration number and the identity of its driver were not immediately known. According to the source, patrolmen pursued the SUV after the collision, but the driver escaped to an unknown destination. Bassey was taken to General Hospital, Ebute Metta, but reportedly died while awaiting treatment.

Her remains were to be moved to a morgue in Yaba. The police were working to obtain CCTV footage from the area in an effort to identify the vehicle and apprehend the driver, the source said. Lagos Police Command spokesperson Abimbola Adebisi confirmed the incident when contacted but declined to provide further details.

“We don’t want to comment on the matter at the moment,” she said. The death occurred amid heightened security operations in Lagos for the President’s movement. Tinubu arrived in the state on Tuesday after travelling from France, with his aircraft landing at the Presidential Wing of Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Ikeja at 6.22pm.