Chidera Ezekiel: How 19-Year-Old Delivery Rider Died In Ikoyi Prison Over Missing ₦45,000 Bicycle

Two years after he moved to Lagos, 19-year-old Chidera Ezekiel got a job as a delivery rider at Errand360, a delivery service in Lagos. He was so excited that he called his elder brother, Samuel, who lived in Akwa Ibom State to share the good news with him. It was a dream come true.

“Omo life no easy for Lagos like that o,” Chidera wrote in pidgin English in a chat to his brother when the latter expressed a desire to come to Lagos too. “U know say u be bush man. If u come Lagos I go fess teach u how we take dey struggle bus for Lagos.”

The new job was a dream come true for Chidera who at the age of 18 left his family in Uyo to hustle in Lagos. He had just finished secondary school and had written WAEC. However, going to university was not an option. His family was struggling and so it was suggested 

To raise money to help the family, the teenager, with the blessing of his mother and elder brother, got on the bus coming to Lagos in 2020 to stay with an acquaintance.

For two years, he did menial jobs in different parts of Lagos until the opportunity to work as a delivery rider came in 2022. Within four months of getting the job, however, his life would take a dramatic turn culminating in an accusation of theft, followed by imprisonment that brought an abrupt end to the life of Chidera and his dream of becoming an engineer. He became another victim of Nigeria’s failure.

Chidera began working for Errand360 on January 17, 2022. The company describes itself as “Nigeria’s foremost eco-friendly last-mile logistics company, providing sustainable delivery alternatives for businesses to reach their consumers.” Chidera was one of the young men who rode bicycles to pick up and deliver goods for clients.

Just a month after joining the company, on February 14, Chidera’s bicycle went missing. Samuel told Neusroom that Chidera had gone home with it after a late delivery and tied it outside as he used to.

“The company allows them to take the bicycle home after late-night deliveries so Chidera on that fateful day took it home and secured it outside his residence. The following morning, the bicycle was gone.”

Errand360, however, disagrees with this version of the event. 

According to the company’s statement, Chidera took the bicycle home against company policy on February 14, 2022, and did not bring it back the following day because according to him, it was stolen. The company, however, claimed that its investigation showed that the bicycle was not stolen as Chidera claimed. He was accused of theft and ordered to return the bicycle. 

“Days later, specifically on February 19, 2022, some persons broke into the company’s Maintenance Building. The security personnel at the facility on that day identified Mr. Ezekiel (Chidera) as one of the persons who broke in,” the company said in an email sent to Neusroom and signed by its head of legal and compliance, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi. “The company naturally involved the police in the matter for the purpose of investigating this series of events. While investigating, we were informed that the police visited Mr. Ezekiel’s residence, where some of the company’s bicycle parts were found. Despite this, no arrest was made. Mr. Ezekiel subsequently returned a replacement for the originally missing bicycle, which upon inspection, was found to be another of the company’s bicycles. Thus, it was proven that Mr. Ezekiel was likely one of the individuals who had broken into the Maintenance Building prior, and he had returned another of the company’s bicycles as a replacement for the initial missing bicycle. It was based on this that the police arrested him and took him into custody for further investigation and arraignment.”

Chidera was arraigned before a magistrate court on March 1, 2022, and bail was set. When he could not meet the bail condition, he was remanded at Ikoyi prison. 

Errand360 claimed that it decided to help Chidera deposit the bail bond but could not meet the requirement as some documents required could not be provided. The 19-year-old was locked up for a month before his case came up again on March 30, 2022.

At the next hearing, Errand360 offered a concession: If Chidera could provide the bike, they would drop the case. The court agreed and the case was adjourned to June 8, 2022. It was at that point that Samuel was contacted by Kenneth, his surety, who explained the situation to him.

“Kenneth told me the price of the bicycle was N45,000 and that he had N30,000. I asked him to send his account detail and I paid the remaining N15,000 to his account.”

Kenneth purchased the bicycle and handed it over to the company on April 4, 2022. The company confirmed this to Neusroom. However, Errand360 claimed they could not secure an early withdrawal of the case scheduled for hearing on June 8.

“Mr. Ezekiel’s presence was required in court, but the authorities could not provide him before the court. It should be noted that as a criminal matter, the case was largely in the hands of the prosecution. We were left with no option but to wait till the next adjourned date for a report of settlement.”

Chidera’s family were, however, in the dark. Shortly after the bicycle was replaced, Kenneth could not be reached and the family was in a panic. At a point, Samuel considered coming to Lagos but their mother talked him out of it. He had not been to Lagos before and did not know where his brother lived, so they waited. Then a call came on May 15 that changed everything. Six weeks after the return of the bicycle, Chidera’s mother received a call from Kenneth informing her of her son’s death in detention on May 24.

“We were shocked.”, Samuel told Neusroom, “What we expected to hear was that the matter had been resolved and he had been released after the bicycle had been returned. How can a 19-year-old boy who hardly got sick die in detention?”

See Also

NCC unveils national spectrum roadmap to improve network quality nationwide

To get answers to the numerous questions, he took a bus to Lagos. Before going to Ikoyi prison, he decided to call Errand360’s official line to find out how his brother died in detention.

“I told them I was Chidera’s brother and asked the person at the end of the phone if she knew him. She said she did but claimed my brother has left the company under questionable circumstances. I asked where he was and I was told they did not know where he was. These were the same people that got him locked up till he died without informing his family and yet they pretended as if he left the company for another place.”

When Neusroom reached out to Errand360 for clarification, the company claimed they informed Chidera’s mother of his arrest and that they were not aware of his death for a long time.“His family knew about his death before we did,” the company told Neusroom.

At Ikoyi prison, Samuel was told that Chidera died after being ill for a while. “I challenged them and asked why he was not taken to the hospital when he was sick considering the good medical service detainees were supposed to have access to but was told to put my complaint and inquiry into writing submitted by a lawyer. I was given a pass to take to the government mortuary in Yaba to confirm and claim the body.”

After submitting the required documents, he was finally allowed to see and confirm the body. 

“That I will be the one to identify the body of my younger brother was something I was unprepared for. It was painful. We are going to fight the company to the end. How can a teenager die because of a bicycle?” Samuel said.

Following social media outrage, Errand360 released a statement on May 25, 2022, explaining that they involved the police after they suspected theft. The company insisted that when the police got involved, the matter left their hands and despite their effort to help him meet his bail conditions, there was little they could do.

The family was billed more than N150,000 for the length of time Chidera’s body has been deposited at the mortuary. The family says it could not afford it. His brother said to transport his body to Akwa Ibom state for burial will also cost the family N50,000. With the cost of coffin and burial space, the total bill is close to N400,000.

“We have given up”, Samuel said when he spoke with Neusroom on June 9, 2022. “We are looking for the money to give him a befitting burial. We do not have the money or the energy to take up Errand360. My father and mother have cried and cried and have no tears again. They have told me to leave everything to God to judge. Right now, we just want to bring him home because each day he spends there, the money keeps going up.”