{"id":7326,"date":"2026-01-06T14:26:07","date_gmt":"2026-01-06T14:26:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/7326\/"},"modified":"2026-01-06T14:26:07","modified_gmt":"2026-01-06T14:26:07","slug":"anthony-joshuas-driver-pictured-as-he-faces-potential-life-sentence-over-nigeria-fatal-crash-that-killed-two","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/7326\/","title":{"rendered":"Anthony Joshua’s driver pictured as he faces potential life sentence over Nigeria fatal crash that killed two"},"content":{"rendered":"

The chauffeur behind the wheel when Anthony Joshua’s vehicle crashed in Nigeria, killing two of the boxer’s closest friends, has been photographed for the first time as he faces the prospect of spending the rest of his life behind bars.<\/p>\n

Adeniyi Kayode, 47, was driving the heavyweight champion and his companions when the black Lexus SUV collided with a stationary lorry on December 29.<\/p>\n

The 47-year-old father of three has worked as Joshua’s driver for more than three years.<\/p>\n

He appeared before magistrates in Sagamu on Friday, where he entered a not guilty plea to multiple charges, including dangerous driving causing death.<\/p>\n

If found guilty, Kayode could receive a life sentence.<\/p>\n

The collision occurred on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway, widely regarded as one of Nigeria’s most dangerous roads, when the Lexus ploughed into the rear of a truck laden with soya beans that had been parked illegally.<\/p>\n

Strength and conditioning coach Sina Gami and personal trainer Latif Ayodele, both aged 36, died instantly as the impact sheared off the side of the vehicle.<\/p>\n

Joshua and Kayode escaped without serious injuries.<\/p>\n

\"Adeniyi<\/p>\n

Adeniyi Kayode was driving the heavyweight champion and his companions when the black Lexus SUV collided with a stationary lorry <\/p>\n

| <\/p>\n

SUPPLIED<\/p>\n

The boxer’s survival proved remarkable given the circumstances. <\/p>\n

Shortly before the group departed Lagos for Sagamu, where Joshua has relatives, he had exchanged seats with Latif.<\/p>\n

According to Kayode’s lawyer Olalekan Abiodun, the driver had asked Joshua to move from the front passenger seat because “Anthony is a big fellow and he couldn’t see the wing mirror properly.”<\/p>\n

Kayode was granted bail set at 5million Naira, approximately \u00a32,500, but remained in custody until the bond was paid. <\/p>\n

\"Anthony<\/p>\n

Anthony Joshua has since returned to Britain after escaping death in a fatal car crash in Nigeria<\/p>\n

| <\/p>\n

X<\/p>\n

He is understood to have been released on Sunday.<\/p>\n

His lawyer told the Daily Mail: “My client has pleaded not guilty and what happened was an accident, I haven’t had a full chance to speak with him yet but I know he is saying the brakes failed.”<\/p>\n

Outside the courthouse, Kayode’s wife was too distressed to speak, but his 19-year-old son Ifeoluwa defended his father.<\/p>\n

He told the publication: “Dad is not a fast driver, he was following the speed limit and then the brakes failed, he said he was pushing the pedal, but nothing was happening.”<\/p>\n

The son added that his father attempted to swerve around the illegally parked lorry but struck it nonetheless.<\/p>\n

\"AnthonyAnthony Joshua appeared dazed in video footage that emerged on social media after his car crash | X<\/p>\n

Kayode is scheduled to appear in court again on January 20, and Nigerian police sources have indicated that Joshua may be required to return from England to provide testimony.<\/p>\n

The boxer flew back to the UK by private jet last Friday.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, a source close to Joshua has rejected Nigerian media reports suggesting he informed his family he intends to quit boxing following the tragedy.<\/p>\n

The heavyweight’s great uncle, Adedomola Joshua, 75, had reportedly claimed: “The major thing there is that he has retired from boxing. That is one thing that makes us glad because each time he’s fighting in the ring, we are always carried away emotionally.”<\/p>\n

Nigerian authorities continue searching for the truck driver who had parked illegally on the expressway.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The chauffeur behind the wheel when Anthony Joshua’s vehicle crashed in Nigeria, killing two of the boxer’s closest…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7327,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[497,96,122,5194,310],"class_list":{"0":"post-7326","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nigeria","8":"tag-boxing","9":"tag-news","10":"tag-nigeria","11":"tag-sgg","12":"tag-sport"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7326","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7326"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7326\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7327"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7326"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7326"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7326"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}