A police pursuit involving a truck transporting cattle, other livestock, motorcycles and several herders reportedly triggered a multiple-vehicle accident on the Kwara-Oyo Highway, leaving several vehicles damaged.
Eyewitnesses alleged that the incident began when police officers stopped the truck, which was conveying livestock to Lagos, and demanded money from the driver after discovering motorcycles and passengers inside the vehicle.
According to the witnesses, the officers threatened to seize the motorcycles and prevent the truck from proceeding if the driver refused to pay.
One eyewitness said the officers stopped the truck after discovering that it was carrying motorcycles alongside livestock and several herders.
“The police saw a truck carrying cows and other livestock to Lagos, and they stopped it. They saw that the truck also carried some motorcycles and some Fulani people inside,” the eyewitness said.
The witness alleged that the officers subsequently demanded money from the driver, threatening to confiscate the motorcycles if he failed to comply.
However, the driver reportedly refused, insisting that he was only transporting the goods to Lagos and had no authority to surrender the motorcycles because he was not their owner.
“The driver said he would not pay anything and would not drop any of the motorcycles because he was not the owner. He said he was just a messenger, sent to deliver the goods to Lagos,” the eyewitness recounted.
The disagreement reportedly escalated when the driver continued driving, prompting the officers to pursue the truck along the highway.
According to the witnesses, the chase continued until the officers overtook and intercepted the vehicle.
“The driver of the truck started driving fast, and the police were chasing him on the highway until it reached a point that they overtook him,” the witness said.
The officers allegedly seized the motorcycles and arrested three herders travelling in the truck after intercepting the vehicle.
“They later caught the truck and took the motorcycles and arrested three Fulani men the truck carried,” the eyewitness added.
The witnesses blamed both the police officers and the truck driver for the incident, alleging that their actions during the pursuit endangered other road users and contributed to the crash.
One eyewitness accused the officers of prioritising personal financial gain over public safety, alleging that the confrontation arose from their demand for money.
“The police were careless because of what they wanted to eat,” the witness said.
The eyewitnesses also alleged that reckless driving by both the officers and the truck driver contributed to the accident, leaving several vehicles damaged.
“A lot of cars were damaged because of the reckless driving of the police and the truck driver,” one witness said.
A video obtained by ChroniclesReporters showed several damaged vehicles at the scene of the reported accident, highlighting the destruction following the crash.
However, the precise number of vehicles involved and the full extent of the damage could not be independently established at the time of filing this report.
Efforts by ChroniclesReporters to reach the Kwara State Police Command’s Public Relations Officer, DSP Toun Ejire-Adeyemi, for comments were unsuccessful, as she did not answer calls to her mobile phone or respond to a text message sent to her.