How FRCN driver jumped from Third Mainland Bridge into lagoon – Eyewitness

George Ikechukwu, a businessman in the Surulere area of Lagos
State, said he witnessed the moment a middle-aged man, Sheriff
Oladejo, jumped into the lagoon from Third Mainland Bridge on
Friday.

Ikechuwku, in a chat with our reporter, said his vehicle was
directly behind the Toyota Corolla car in which Oladejo was.

The deceased according to News Agency of Nigeria, was a driver
attached to an Assistant Director in charge of Information
Communication Technology unit of the Federal Radio Corporation of
Nigeria.

He was said to have been newly posted from the FRCN Training
School located in Shogunle to the Broadcasting House in Ikoyi,
Lagos.

Explaining what transpired shortly before the suicide, Ikechukwu
said there was light traffic along UNILAG waterfront end of the
bridge as a result of a vehicle that broke down on the road.

He said Oladejo, who was sitting at the back of the car,
hurriedly opened the door and in a split second, clung to the
railings of the bridge.

The businessman said, “We were on Third Mainland Bridge after
the UNILAG Waterfront about 9am. I was behind the brown Toyota
Corolla 2001 model where the man was. There were three people
inside the car, the driver and a woman sitting in the front. The
man sat at the back.

“There was a faulty vehicle on the road, so we all had to reduce
our speed. I noticed the car (the Toyota Corolla) in front of me
slowed down, and the man jumped out in front my car. I thought
their car was over-flooding and he wanted to call the attention of
the fishermen to help them with water or he wanted to urinate. But
the next thing I saw was that the tall man climbed the culvert. He
wore a grey shirt with brown trousers and a cap. The man wore a
very desperate look. He should be in his late 40s.

“My wife and I were looking at him as he held the railings and
jumped into the water, head-first. I parked immediately and
disembarked from my car. The driver of the Toyota Corolla also came
down. We could not see any trace of his body because the water was
calm.”

Ikechukwu said they called for help and three fishermen
responded. He said the fishermen searched the water for about 30
minutes without success.

“We later drove to a checkpoint where policemen were. The driver
was shouting and panicking. He was saying something in Yoruba,
which I did not understand. I left the scene when my wife started
fidgeting,” he added.

Our correspondent learnt that Oladejo’s body was later recovered
by a joint team of Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, Marine
Police, Lagos State Waterways Authority and Rapid Response
Squad.

LASEMA General Manager, Mr. Tiamiyu Adesina, said the agency
received a distress call at 9.25 am.

“A preliminary report at the scene revealed that the victim
asked the driver to stop on the bridge for him to urinate and then
he jumped into the lagoon. The body was recovered and taken to the
LASWA jetty at Ebute Ero. It was thereafter handed over to the
Adekunle Police Division for further investigation.”

The Lagos State Police Publ Relations Officer, CSP Chike Oti,
confirmed that the man was a passenger in a Toyota Corolla car,
adding that the deceased had been identified by his relatives.

“The man’s name is Sherifu Oladejo. He was a passenger in that
vehicle. He was a driver,” he added.