The uncle of British-Nigerian boxer Anthony Joshua has said the former heavyweight champion would not want the driver involved in the accident that claimed the lives of two of his close associates to be sent to jail.
The driver, Adeniyi Kayode (46), appeared before a magistrate’s court in Sagamu, Ogun State, on Tuesday over the December 29 crash that resulted in the deaths of Latif Ayodele and Sina Ghami, both friends and trainers to Joshua.
Presiding magistrate Olajumoke Somefu adjourned the matter until February 25 after the prosecution requested time to forward the case file to the Ogun State Attorney-General’s Office through the Department of Public Prosecutions for legal advice.
Kayode, who was driving a Lexus 570 SUV when it collided with a stationary truck along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, is facing four charges, including dangerous driving causing death, reckless and negligent driving, and driving without a valid national driver’s licence.
Speaking to our correspondent, Joshua’s uncle, Adedamola Joshua, said the family had no desire to see Kayode imprisoned.
“Anthony is deeply religious and approaches everything with faith. He would not want anything bad to happen to the driver,” Adedamola said.
“I see how close they were, and he would not want him to go to jail, especially considering he has a family and children who would suffer. Accidents happen everywhere in the world, and the family is not interested in him being jailed. We want to move forward.”
Kayode, who had served as Joshua’s driver for three years, was earlier granted bail in the sum of ₦5 million, with two sureties in like amount.
Defence counsel Abiodun Olalekan opposed the prosecution’s request for an adjournment, stating that the defence was ready to proceed with the trial. However, the magistrate granted the application.
