ABEOKUTA – The Ogun State Police Command has confirmed the arrest of the driver of a Lexus Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) involved in the accident that claimed the lives of Anthony Joshua’s friend and trainer.
The confirmation was made on Thursday by the Ogun State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Oluseyi Babaseyi, via his X (formerly Twitter) handle, where he disclosed that investigations into the incident were ongoing.
According to the police spokesperson, “The driver of the Lexus SUV is currently in custody in connection with the Anthony Joshua accident case. Investigations are ongoing.”
The Encounter News reliably gathered that the 47year old driver named Kayode Adeniyi is expected to be charged with reckless driving ‘within the next 48 hours’, police sources in Nigeria have revealed.
The Chauffeur has been a long standing member of Joshua’s Nigerian logistics team when he visits the west African country.
Adeniyi was discharged from hospital in Lagos late on New Year’s Eve and was driven two hours north to Abeokuta, the capital of Ogun state, where Monday’s fatal crash took place.
Eyewitness say, ‘He is in a stable condition and was able to provide us with his version of events that led up to the crash and we expect a charging decision within the next 48 hours but the bank holiday may delay proceedings.
He was questioned for several hours and gave an official statement of what he says happened in the minutes leading up to the crash which left two of Joshua’s closest friends dead.
A police source said: ‘The driver was released after treatment for minor injuries and was then taken to the state police headquarters for questioning.
‘It is possible he could be in court on Friday but it depends how quickly the process moves and it would be for reckless driving.’
Adeniyi was at the wheel of the Lexus and allegedly way over the 65mph speed limit for the Lagos-Ibadan expressway when he lost control after a tyre busy during an overtaking manoeuvre.
The Lexus carrying Joshua, 36, and two of his training staff, Sina Ghami and Kevin Latif Ayodele the smashed into an illegally parked truck on the hard shoulder which was carrying soya beans.
The force of the impact tore the nearside section of the car away and Ghami and Ayodele were killed instantly while Joshua and Adeniyi suffered only minor injuries.
Joshua was sat behind the driver and escaped death by inches with local first responders describing his survival as a ‘miracle’.
