By Adeyanju Esther
A commercial bus driver, Elijah Shokoya was sentenced to 12 years in prison by Justice Oyindamola Ogala of the Lagos High Court in Ikeja on Thursday.
This came after the court found him guilty of involuntary manslaughter of Olawale Akinmade, a Lagos State Traffic Management Agency (LASTMA) officer.
The incident occurred on January 27, 2012, at the Demurin Street junction in Lagos, where Shokoya allegedly struck Akinmade with his blue and black Opel space bus while the officer was performing traffic duties. Akinmade sustained severe head and body injuries from the collision, leading to his death.
During the trial, the prosecution, represented by the Lagos State Government, successfully argued that Shokoya’s actions directly caused Akinmade’s death and that he drove recklessly with knowledge of the potential harm.
Despite pleading not guilty to the charge, Shokoya was convicted under Section 224 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015, and sentenced under Section 229.
Justice Ogala emphasised that the prosecution had met the burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt, citing witness testimonies and police investigation reports that corroborated the events leading to Akinmade’s tragic demise.
The judge clarified that the standard of proof required in criminal cases does not demand absolute certainty but rather a high degree of probability that the accused’s actions caused the death in question.
In her remarks, Justice Ogala declared Shokoya guilty of involuntary manslaughter and imposed a sentence of 12 years imprisonment starting from the day of judgement.