Traffic official drags steering with driver, causing fatal accident

A weightlifting coach attached to Kano State Sports Commission (KSSC), Baba Yusuf, was on Saturday killed by a car that veered off the road due to a struggle between a traffic official and a driver over the control of its steering.

According to an eyewitness account, the deceased was riding a motorcycle to work when the incident occurred.

The witness said an official of Kano Road Traffic Agency (KAROTA) and a commercial driver were scuffling over the steering of the moving dark blue Volkswagen Golf wagon with registration number Bauchi KTG 174 AA when the car veered off the road and fatally knocked Mr Yusuf off his bike.

“The car knocked down Baba and dragged his body on the tarred road, thereby causing his death.

“Passersby rushed to the scene and pulled the deceased and his motorcycle from underneath the Volkswagen wagon,” the source further narrated.

Police spokesperson in Kano, Abdullahi Kiyawa, on Sunday confirmed the incident. He said the remains of the deceased had been deposited in a mortuary.

He said both the KAROTA official and the driver had been taken into police custody.

“The commissioner of police has directed a thorough investigation to determine the cause of the accident,” Mr Kiyawa said.

But KAROTA spokesperson, Nabulisi Kofar-Naisa, told PREMIUM TIMES that it was the driver that knocked down Mr Yusuf while attempting to escape arrest by the official who was on duty in the area at the time.

He said the agency was further investigating the incident.

The spokesperson of the state Sports Commission, Sabo Abatti, lamented the tragic death of a man he said had served the commission for over two decades.

Mr Yusuf was married and had children.

On Wednesday, a similar scuffle between a KAROTA official and a truck driver caused a gridlock along the ever-busy Ibrahim Taiwo Road by Bello Road.