Police to arraign NURTW leader over alleged killing of dispatch rider

The Lagos State Police Command has announced plans to arraign a National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) leader, Shamsideen Adio, popularly known as Shameleon, on Friday over the alleged killing of a dispatch rider.

Adio, 55, was arrested following a violent altercation on Tapa Street, Lagos Island, on September 17, 2025. Reports indicate that the incident began after the victim was accused of scratching Adio’s vehicle. The disagreement quickly escalated, with the suspect and his associates allegedly descending on the rider in a brutal assault.

According to eyewitnesses, the rider was struck repeatedly with a helmet and fists until he collapsed. He was rushed to the hospital but later died from injuries sustained in the attack. Confirming the development, the Deputy Police Public Relations Officer, Bababseyi Oluseyi, said the suspect is currently being held at the State Criminal Investigation Department, SCID, Panti-Yaba.

Meanwhile, the Lagos State House of Assembly has also waded into the matter, insisting that the suspect and his accomplices must be prosecuted.

Chairman of the House Committee on Transportation, Adewale Adedeji, condemned the incident, describing it as “an act that must be condemned by every well-meaning Nigerian.”

He said: “We can just imagine a dispatch rider who left home to earn a living for himself not returning because somebody who thinks he is above the law decided to take his life. The sanctity of human life has no alternative and Shamsideen’s case must be handled to serve as a lesson.”