‘She tried to save him’ – Abiola Odutayo’s lawyer denies reckless driving in tech entrepreneur’s death

The legal representatives of Abiola Odutayo have pushed back against online narratives portraying her as a reckless driver responsible for the death of Adetunji Opayele, a tech entrepreneur.

Opayele, also known as Teejay, the co-founder and chief technical officer of Bumpa, a fast-growing Nigerian tech startup, was killed in a road accident on March 4 along Ozumba Mbadiwe road, Victoria Island, Lagos.

The 32-year-old software engineer was reportedly riding his power bike when he was allegedly hit by a vehicle driven by Odutayo.

Initial reports and a petition on change.org described Odutayo as a reckless driver who ran a red light and collided with the deceased and refused to take him to the hospital, sparking outrage on social media. 

However, in a statement issued on Sunday, Olukayode Enitan, lawyer to Odutayo, condemned what he described as a “campaign of calumny” against his client, adding that she has also suffered from the tragic incident.

Enitan said Odutayo had the right of way when she entered the road after dropping off a friend at Cactus Restaurant. He claimed that Opayele had crashed his power bike into his client’s vehicle, causing a severe impact that deployed her airbags and set her body and clothes on fire.

“A disconcerted Biola managed to emerge from her car through the driver’s door which had been severely damaged and hanging open,” the lawyer said.

“A mob of street urchins immediately surrounded her, harassing and intimidating her while in excruciating pain. Upon coming to consciousness of what has happened, our client’s primary concern was to save whom she was later to know as Mr. Tunji Opayele lying on the road motionless, having been thrown off his bike from the impact of the collision. 

“Despite her injuries, Ms. Odutayo immediately called a fellow doctor friend for guidance (though she was so traumatised that she later forgot making the call). She was advised to take the victim to the nearby Coptic Hospital, but the street urchins won’t let her accompany Mr Opaleye because they wanted to prevent any purported attempt to get rid of the body if she had gone with it.

“Luckily, a friend, a passerby, a good Samaritan Uber driver and our client’s driver teamed up to rush Mr Opayele to the hospital at her instruction. Not leaving anything to chance, she went ahead to transfer money for his treatment.

“Subsequently, three hospitals were visited, but Mr. Opayele was pronounced dead at the last one where our client joined them after the street urchins who hitherto held her captive, allowed her to join the emergency party apparently convinced that she was doing her best to save Mr Opayele’s life despite her own visible trauma.”

He said following the accident, his client turned herself in at a police station, where she was detained for over 48 hours before being hospitalized due to trauma.

Odutayo’s lawyers said she has been subjected to “relentless cyberbullying, harassment, and physical threats” despite the matter being in court.

“Whilst it is regrettable that one of the victims died, it is most cruel to believe that commencing a campaign of calumny against the surviving victim will bring justice to the deceased. People have unjustly painted her as a monster, without examining the facts of the accident,” he said.

The lawyer added that contrary to reports that Odutayo is only faced with a charge bordering on reckless driving, “our client has been charged on two counts including manslaughter and is only out on bail which is at the discretion of the court”. 

“The current state of social media bullying, cyber-stalking, harassment and intimidation also does not aid the course of justice. 

“It is also important to point out that the officers and officials of government who are saddled with responsibilities to do one thing or the other in respect of the matter be allowed to be guided by the principles of law and good conscience. Let everyone allow the courts to make their decisions based on concrete evidence.”