Anthony Joshua’s Friends Killed in Crash: Driver Charged
Anthony Joshua’s driver attempted to overtake another vehicle before ploughing into a stationary lorry in the crash that killed two of the boxer’s closest friends, a court in Nigeria has been told.
Latif Ayodele and Sina Ghami – Joshua’s long-time personal trainer and strength coach – died at the scene. Joshua survived and was taken to hospital.
Overtake move before fatal impact
The driver, 46-year-old Adeniyi Mobolaji Kayode, stands accused of causing death by dangerous driving and driving without a valid licence, charges he denies.
The court heard that on December 29, Joshua, Ayodele and Ghami were travelling to visit the former two-time unified heavyweight champion’s father in Ogun State, near Lagos. They were on the Lagos–Ibadan Expressway in Makun when Kayode allegedly tried to overtake a moving truck and then crashed into a lorry that was parked by the roadside.
The collision came just days after Joshua’s lucrative stoppage win over Jake Paul in Miami, a crossover event that had dominated headlines for very different reasons.
All three passengers were said to have been asleep when the vehicle lost control and slammed into the stationary lorry. Joshua was rushed for medical treatment. Ayodele and Ghami were pronounced dead where they lay.
Second driver also charged
The legal fallout does not stop with Kayode.
The driver of the parked lorry, 35-year-old Abubakar Adamu, has also been charged – this time with obstructing the free flow of traffic. He, too, denies any wrongdoing.
By the time officers from the Ogun State Motor Traffic Division reached the scene, both vehicles involved had already been removed, Inspector Christopher Ajayi Taiwo told the court. Around the driver’s side, police recovered a logbook, painkillers and an energy drink.
One detail drew sharp questions from the defence. Local police have still not taken a statement from Joshua himself. When Kayode’s lawyer pressed Inspector Ajayi on why the heavyweight star had not been interviewed, the officer replied that he “didn’t have his number”.
The trial has been adjourned until September 10. The case remains live, the scrutiny intense.
Grief that lingers beyond the ring
The crash has cast a long shadow over Joshua’s year.
In July, after defeating Kristian Prenga, the 34-year-old tried to pay tribute to Ayodele and Ghami in the ring. The words barely came. Joshua broke down in tears as he spoke about the men who had helped build and maintain his formidable frame, and whose absence now sits in every training camp.
A month before that bout, he had outlined his promise to them and their families.
His aim, he said, was to support their loved ones and help deliver on the ambitions Ayodele and Ghami had set, even though they were no longer here. He spoke of prayers, of a wider team working behind the scenes, of a “system” dedicated to preserving their legacy and backing their families’ futures. In his own corner of the world, he insisted, he knew exactly what he had to do.
The courtroom will decide where the blame lies for the crash on the Lagos–Ibadan Expressway. For Joshua, the verdict will not change the empty spaces in his camp – or the promise he has already made to honour the men who never made it to Ogun.
