In the wee hours of Friday, July 29, 2022, Omotayo Sanyaolu, 45, rammed his black coloured Toyota Camry, with Reg N0 LAGH 32, into the Keystone Bank ATM located close to the Army Cantonment in Maryland, Ikeja, Lagos.
He was driving at top speed when he veered off the Mobolaji Bank Anthony Road and into blackness.
Until his death, Sanyaolu was the Senior Special Assistant (SSA) on Tertiary Education, Youth and Student Affairs, to Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
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While it is unclear if he was inebriated before the accident, more than three eyewitnesses who rushed to the scene when the accident occurred, have told Quest Times on condition of anonymity, that the governor’s aide was driving with bag-loads of cash.
“The car was full of ‘Ghana-must-Go’ bags of money in varying denominations,” one auto mechanic whose workshop is near the army cantonment, reveals.
A lady who sells cooked meals in the neighborhood, also corroborated the mechanic’s account of events, saying in Pidgin, “na so so money bin full the moto.”
There are also suggestions that robbers could have been hot on the heels of the young Lagos state government official.
Eyewitnesses also tell Quest Times that when the soldiers from the nearby military cantonment discovered the contents of the bags in the boot of the wrecked car, they took control of the accident scene and that was the last that was heard of the sack-load of banknotes.
“The soldiers took the ‘Ghana-must-Go’ bags of money with them into the cantonment. We saw them with our eyes,” says another eyewitness.
In a statement issued on the morning of the car crash, Dr Femi Oke-Osanyantolu, Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Emergency Management Authority, said, “Unfortunately, an adult male, Sanyaolu, who was the sole occupant of the vehicle, died on impact and his remains were immediately bagged upon arrival of emergency responders.
“These have been handed over to the cantonment officer on duty (Officer Musa).
“The affected vehicle was recovered with the aid of LASEMA’s light towing vehicle to a lay-by.”
‘We will miss Tayo’
Spokespersons for the military in Lagos, the cantonment and the Lagos State Government, did not immediately respond to requests for comments before this story was published.
Officials also refused to disclose what the money was for and why Sanyaolu was driving with that much money in the dark.
However, one media aide of the governor responded curtly; “the man is dead. Have you guys no respect for the dead?” before cutting off the line abruptly.
Governor Sanwo-Olu has mourned the passing of Sanyaolu, describing his demise as painful and irreparable.
The governor said; “the death of a loved one is usually painful as it is irreparable but we must thank God that Omotayo Sanyaolu made a positive impact during his short but eventful lifetime. He served our party, APC, passionately and meritoriously as a Youth Leader and contributed to its victory in many elections.
“Tayo as my Special Assistant on Tertiary Education, Youth and Student Affairs, was very instrumental to the Greater Lagos agenda. He contributed positively to issues affecting the youths and students in the state.
“I sympathise with his widow, children, siblings, friends and the entire family as well as Lagos State and the APC family. I pray that God will grant the late Omotayo Sanyaolu eternal rest and grant the family the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss. We will miss Tayo.”