Nigerian police on Friday charged the driver of a car, carrying British boxer Anthony Joshua that was involved in a fatal crash, with “reckless” and “dangerous driving causing death”.
Adeniyi Mobolaji Kayode, 46, was also charged with driving without a valid “driver’s licence” and “driving without due care and attention, causing bodily harm and damage to property”, Oluseyi Babaseyi, a spokesman for the police in Ogun state, told AFP.
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He was granted a five million naira bail ($3,500) but will remain in detention until he meets bail conditions, Babaseyi said.
Kayode was driving the boxer and two of his friends, Latif Ayodele and Sina Ghami, on a busy highway linking Lagos and Ibadan in southwest Nigeria when the Lexus SUV in which they were travelling rammed into a stationary truck on Monday.
Nigerian police and state officials said that Ayodele and Ghami died at the scene, while Joshua and the driver sustained minor injuries.
It’s since been revealed that Joshua only cheated death after changing seats in the vehicle at the last minute, according to The Telegraph.
The publication reports that it was claimed in court Joshua was initially in the front seat, but moved to the back of the SUV at the request of the driver, who was struggling to see the side mirror past the heavyweight boxer.
The Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Agency (TRACE) in Ogun state, where the accident occurred, told AFP earlier in the week that its preliminary investigations showed that the vehicle was moving at an excessive speed and had burst a tyre before the crash.
Kayode is due to appear in court on January 20.