Anthony Joshua crash driver faces court as family questions ‘worth’ of trial

Adeniyi Mobolaji Kayode (centre), the driver charged in the car crash that injured Anthony Joshua and killed his friends, walks at a court in Sagamu. Photo / Tonye Bakare, AFP

The driver charged in the car crash that injured Anthony Joshua and killed his friends has appeared in a Nigerian court as the star boxer’s uncle wondered whether a trial was “really worth it”.

Adeniyi Mobolaji Kayode, 46, was driving the former two-time heavyweight champion Joshua and two of his friends, Latif Ayodele and Sina Ghami, when their Lexus SUV rammed into a stationary truck.

Kayode faces multiple reckless driving charges as well as a charge of driving without a licence.

Dressed in black trousers and a hoodie, Kayode was visibly downcast and tried to avoid cameras of journalists outside the courtroom in Sagamu, in the country’s southwest.

“We are very lucky that our son didn’t die. But taking this man to court is something we don’t see any reason for,” Joshua’s uncle, Adedamola Joshua, told AFP at the boxer’s family home.

“This is my own personal opinion that the trial is not really worth it. Because we think accidents can happen anywhere in the world.”

At the same time, he added, “we sense the opinion of the people of the town” is that “this man must be prosecuted. That he was over speeding”.

The Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Agency (TRACE) in the Ogun state section of the highway, where the crash occurred, told AFP in the aftermath of the December 29 incident that its preliminary investigations showed that the vehicle was moving at an excessive speed and had a burst tyre before the collision.

Kayode’s court appearance was brief, as the judge adjourned the case until February 25 after the prosecution requested a delay.

His lawyer Olalekan Abiodun told journalists outside the courtroom that he agreed to the adjournment “in the interest of justice”.

Nigerian police and state officials said that Ayodele and Ghami died at the scene while Joshua and Kayode sustained minor injuries.

Ghami was Joshua’s long-time strength and conditioning coach, while Ayodele was his personal trainer, according to British media.

Adedamola Joshua told AFP that Kayode had been his nephew’s driver for three years and there had never been any complaints.

His nephew, a British national of Nigerian heritage, frequently visits southwest Nigeria, where he has friends and family.

- Agence France-Presse