Some residents of Ondo State, on Monday, stoned and beat Tope Olorunfemi, a 35-year-old driver, to death.

The mob dubbed him a fraudster and ritualist who set out to kill people for ritual purposes.

Olorunfemi was driving in Akure when he lost control of his vehicle, skidded off the road and hit several road users.

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Pictures and videos of his lynching surfaced online, with claims that he was a ‘Yahoo boy’ (slang for fraudster). Some said he killed four people, others claimed he killed six. The mob killed him and burnt his car.

CLAIM 1: Olorunfemi was a 22-year-old ‘Yahoo boy’ and ritualist.

CLAIM 2: Olorunfemi killed multiple people.

Some social media accounts tweeted between Monday and Tuesday that Olorunfemi crushed four to six persons to death, and was in possession of several items like tortoise, calabash, and female underwear, among others.

According to the tweets, he was a 22-year-old. These tweets were seen by over 500,000 people.

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VERIFICATION: On Wednesday, FIJ watched a video of Oluyemi Fasipe, an Ondo State youth leader’s visit to Olorunfemi’s family, who said that he was a commercial driver who used his vehicle to convey passengers to their destinations for a fee.

His mother said Tope’s father gifted him the vehicle in 2021, and he had been using it ever since as an affiliate of Bolt. She also said he was a 35-year-old with one child.

I visited the mother and wife of Tope Olorunfemi who was lynched to death in Akure on Monday… According to the mother, Late Tope was a bolt driver, the car was bought for him two years ago by his father. He was not a Yahoo boy or a ritualist. Watch the full interview.… pic.twitter.com/iv3rRo1ro7

— Olúyẹmí Fásípè AICMC (@YemieFash) April 12, 2023

FIJ also called Funmilayo Odunlami-Omisanya, spokesperson for the Ondo State Police Command, on Wednesday, and she confirmed that Olorunfemi accidentally hit one motorcyclist, killing him in the process, and injured six people.

She said, “He hit one okada man, while six others were injured.”

VERDICT: The claim that Olorunfemi was a 22-year-old is false. The claims that he was a ‘Yahoo boy’ and ritualist are misleading, as there is no evidence to back them.

The claim on the number of fatal victims is also misleading, as only one person died.