Police hunt truck crew over death of Kwara Polytechnic student

The police in Kwara State are searching 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.

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The deceased, identified as Shehu, reportedly went missing on Friday after borrowing a motorcycle from his brother to buy clothes for his side business.

PREMIUM TIMES gathered that the family’s search for him led to the discovery of his body on a bridge in Oko-Olowo, Ilorin, after it had initially been classified as unidentified and buried.

The Kwara State Commissioner of Police, Adekimi Ojo, confirmed the development on Tuesday, saying police were working to arrest the truck driver and his motor boy.

“Yes, we are trying to arrest the drivers now,” Mr Ojo told journalists.

The incident reportedly occurred around the Government Secondary School area of Ilorin, while the deceased’s body was later discovered on a bridge in Oko-Olowo.

Mr Ojo said the police initially treated the body as that of an unidentified person.

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“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,” the commissioner said.

The family’s search reportedly began when Shehu failed to return home with the motorcycle he had borrowed.

A relative said the motorcycle’s owner called the student’s phone after 9 p.m., but an unidentified person answered.

The relative said a voice in the background asked why the call was answered before the line went dead.

Subsequent attempts to reach the student reportedly failed, prompting the family to intensify its search until it learnt of the body recovered in Oko-Olowo.

The family alleged that a tricycle operator identified as Basit, who reportedly witnessed the incident, took Shehu to the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, where he was confirmed dead.

The operator allegedly claimed to be the deceased’s brother before taking custody of the body and handing it over to the Conoil truck crew.

Mr Ojo confirmed Basit’s arrest, saying the operator admitted handing the body over to the truck driver but claimed he did not know where the body was taken afterwards.

The family said it wanted the police to establish the circumstances surrounding the transfer of the body and determine the motive of the operator.

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“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 Kulende Police Station during the search for him.

The police investigation is expected to establish the circumstances of the student’s death, how his body was transferred to the truck crew, and the events that led to its recovery and initial burial.