Court grants Anthony Joshua’s driver bail, adjourns trial to February 25

A Magistrate Court sitting in Sagamu, Sagamu Local Government Area of Ogun State, has granted bail to Adeniyi Kayode, the driver who conveyed former world heavyweight boxing champion Anthony Joshua and two members of his team before a fatal road accident.

Kayode was admitted to bail in the sum of N5 million, with two sureties, while the court adjourned the case until February 25, 2026, for further hearing.

The 46-year-old driver is standing trial over a crash that claimed the lives of Joshua’s personal trainer, Latif Ayodele, and his strength and conditioning coach, Sina Ghami.

Kayode was arraigned on January 2 before Magistrate Olufunilayo. Some fun on a four-count charge bordering on dangerous driving causing death, reckless and negligent driving, driving without due care and attention resulting in bodily harm and damage to property, and driving without a valid national driver’s licence.

The offences are said to be contrary to provisions of the Federal Highway Act, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 (as applicable in Ogun State).

At the hearing, the prosecution counsel, Nijiwe Richard, applied for an adjournment to enable the prosecution to transmit the case file to the Ogun State Attorney General’s office through the Department of Public Prosecutions for legal advice, in the interest of justice.

Defence counsel, Abiodun Olalekan, opposed the application, indicating the defence’s readiness to proceed with the trial. However, in her ruling, Magistrate Somefun granted the prosecution’s request and adjourned the matter to February 25.

The tragic accident occurred on December 29, 2025, along the Lagos–Ibadan Motorway, when a Lexus SUV conveying Joshua, Kayode, and the two deceased aides collided with a stationary truck. Joshua and the driver sustained minor injuries.

Joshua was later discharged from hospital after doctors certified him clinically fit to continue his recovery at home. He subsequently visited a funeral home in Lagos with his mother to pay his last respects to Ayodele and Ghami before their bodies were repatriated to the United Kingdom.

The remains of both men were flown to the UK, where a funeral prayer service was held on January 4, 2026, at the London Central Mosque.

Ghami and Ayodele were widely regarded as key figures in Anthony Joshua’s camp, and their deaths sent shockwaves through the international boxing community.