In his bid to evade arrest by officials of the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB), a teenage hawker fell from a bridge and in the process, lost his life.
Eyewitnesses said the unidentified young man, who was hawking beverages around the Bolingo Bridge Hotel in Abuja Central Business District, joined others to run for safety on sighting an AEPB official vehicle.
However, in the bid to escape, the hawker fell from the bridge and remained unconscious and was rushed to the National Hospital, Abuja, by a police patrol team passing by.
Superintendent of Police, Adebayo Jogbojbo, a police officer who witnessed the incident, said that “all the hawkers took to their heels when they sighted the vehicle but the boy decided to jump from the bridge.
“It was a fatal incident but the police have taken him to the National Hospital,” he said.
A worker with the hospital, who refused to disclose his identity, revealed that the boy was brought in dead.
“The boy was already dead when they brought him here and he has been taken away for burial; I believe he was a Muslim,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mr Joe Ukairo, AEPB Head of Media and Outreach Programmes, said that officials of the board did not pursue the hawkers.
“Whenever they sight our vehicles, they take to their heels and that was what happened in this case.
“Hawking is illegal in the FCT and we urge all residents to obey that law and stop risking their lives unnecessarily,” he said.