Ride-hailing platform inDrive Nigeria has reinstated one of its drivers, James Oluwatosin, who had earlier been denied access to his account in the wake a robbery allegation made against him by a passenger.
inDrive unblocked the driver’s account after pressures from users across social media platforms, challenging its decision to restrict the driver from using the app without investigating the matter.
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Announcing the reinstatement of Mr. Oluwatosin’s account as a verified inDrive driver on Friday in an Instagram post, the company stated that its decision to reverse the driver’s suspension followed an investigation that cleared him of the accusation.
“Our team immediately reached out to both parties to clarify the situation. Following the initial review, we found no inconsistencies in the driver’s version of events and decided to keep the account active,” inDrive said.
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“Later we were able to carefully review her statement. We found no clear evidence supporting the accusations against the driver. According to her account, the driver stopped in a secluded area to fix a headlight, which made her feel alarmed,” the company added.
The company advised the public to always consider drivers’ online ratings before choosing rides as they often reflects accurate information about them.
inDrive acknowledged Mr Oluwatosin’s dedication over his three years with the company as he already had a 4.83 rating at the time of the allegations.
“Based on the outcome of our review, we did not find confirmation of any misconduct by the driver,” inDrive stated.
Backstory
A passenger using inDrive Nigeria wrote a post on X (formerly Twitter) via her account, @Big_Itohan, on Wednesday, where she alleged that Mr Oluwatosin connived with robbers to attack her and her friend during a trip to Amukoko in Lagos.
She claimed the driver pretended his car was faulty, after which the robbers emerged and carried out the robbery.
Following her post, several other posts appeared on X, warning people to avoid his service.
“If you order a ride and you see him, please cancel. He’ll pretend something is wrong with his car and park so his gang can rob you,” she said in one of the posts.
“All of his door handles except the driver’s side are broken. You can’t get out. I literally had to climb out through the driver’s side while he was pretending to fix the light and was on a call,” the passenger added.
Since then, the post has gone viral, sparking reactions across Facebook, X, WhatsApp, and other social media platforms.
Driver’s response
Hours later, Mr Oluwatosin, denied the allegations, describing them as false and fabricated. He maintained that no robbery occurred during the trip.
According to him, his car developed a fault around Onipanu in Lagos and, while attempting to fix it, some unidentified touts approached and demanded money. He said he refused to pay them, but the passenger chose to negotiate with the men, eventually transferring some cash to them.
“My car broke down on Sunday night, and I called a rewire to fix it. While we were there, some area boys approached us and demanded money. I asked them to let me finish repairing the car first. When I was done, they said I had to pay N20,000, which I refused.”
“I don’t know them and have never met them before. The passenger got out of the car and insisted on talking to them, trying to negotiate so they wouldn’t rob us,” he added.
The driver further expressed his displeasure at inDrive’s effort in blocking his account, despite his decent record with the company.
Reactions
Netizens across social media platforms argued that the inDrive driver has been unfairly maligned, with his reputation severely damaged. Some pointed to Mr Oluwatosin’s consistently high rating as a proof that it is unlikely he had conspired in any robbery.
“Dear inDrive. I was in a class of over 500 students with my friends when we saw the false allegation tweet against Mr James Oluwatosin Ogunsanwo by one female passenger and they all vowed to halt your patronage until you restore the innocent man’s job and protect his dignity,” said Omo Akin (@GuyMr0), an X user, in a post.
On Thursday morning, the Lagos State Police Command, through its public relations officer, Abimbola Adebisi, announced it had waded in to resolve the matter. Ms Adebisi urged all parties to present their statements further for investigation.
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“The Lagos State Police Command is aware of the widely circulated post and is inviting the concerned parties to come forward. The parties may reach out to me via call or WhatsApp on 09055390070 for a direct link-up,” she said.
Late Thursday, inDrive replied to the passengers’ X post, saying its investigation revealed that the driver is consistent in his account of the story.
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