By NELSON DAFE, Benin City

A young man met his tragic end on Friday evening in Benin City as he was crushed to death when a motorcyclist carrying him tried to escape from policemen who were giving them a hot chase in the Edo State capital.

It was gathered that the Police personnel were stationed at the Sapele Road bypass end of the city.

The unidentified man was being conveyed on a motorbike with his girlfriend when the policemen tried to stop them as the bike carrying them zoomed past.

Residents around the area, as well as many young men driving in their cars or boarding motorbikes, complain that the policemen at the Sapele Road bypass were fond of extorting them forcefully and illegally confiscating and going through their phones while branding them fraudsters.

According to those who spoke withNews Express, when the policemen find that there were not sufficient evidence to tie the young men to any crime through their phones, they then brand them cultists or ritualists and hold them against their will until they cough up huge sums of money to “bail” themselves.

It was in this context, probably, that the motorcyclist carrying the man and his girlfriend refused to stop when the policemen flagged him down.

The policemen then gave them a hot chase with their car and as the motorcyclist tried to maneuver, he drove straight into an onrushing trailer.

The head of the young man burst open immediately as he died on the spot while the fate of the driver and the girl was not immediately known as at the time of filing this report.

The Police, on seeing the tragedy their chase had caused, immediately reversed and fled the scene.

The Sapele Road bypass Police check point was deserted on Saturday, February 12, 2022, following the incident.