Truck Owner Commits Suicide After Being Fined N215K By TRACE In Ogun State

A truck owner, identified as Fatai Salami, has committed suicide after his truck was seized by officials of the Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Corps, TRACE, for flouting COVID-19 laws in the Ogun State.

According to reports gathered, Salami drank a poisonous pesticide, Sniper, on the premises of TRACE after they allegedly asked him to pay N215,000 for flouting COVID-19 law in the state.

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A source who witnessed the development told our correspondent that the TRACE officials seized the deceased’s truck from his driver in Abeokuta on Thursday, July 17, for flouting social distancing order and failure to use face mask.

The deceased was said to have gone to the premises of TRACE and pleaded for the release of his truck, but to no avail, as the Officials asked that he paid the stipulated fine.

According to the source, he had been sleeping on the premises since Thursday until Monday, July 20, when he was able to raise a sum of N150,000 for the fine payment, which was rejected.

The source said the man threatened to kill himself, but was not taken seriously until he drank the pesticide and died.

Confirming the death of the man, the Public Relations Officer of TRACE, Babatunde Akinbiyi, said;

“The man was neither a truck driver not a truck owner. We only saw him there, he sat on the floor and the people asked him to stand up and as he stood up he brought out something from his pocket and drank it.

“We later discovered that it was sniper that he drank. He was rushed to the General Hospital, where he gave up the ghost. The case has been reported to the police.”