46 Days After Getting His Bike, Kola Onifoto Is Confirmed Dead

On the morning of Sunday, March 1, Orowole Samuel Kolapoz, known online as Kola Onifoto, posted on Facebook that he was leaving Lagos for Akure on his motorcycle. It was, by his own description, his first solo ride outside the city.

"This is my first solo ride out of Lagos, and I'm headed to Akure… I don fall once o, there was a time I was navigating by the off-road side. I just let the bike fall, see all my wounds," he spoke in what was his last video, hours before the crash that would kill him.

Kolapoz, 32, a photographer, brand influencer, and former military man, was involved in a lone motorcycle accident on a Lagos road that afternoon.

According to an unverified eyewitness account shared on Facebook by a user, the crash occurred between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. The account claimed the vehicle Kolapoz collided with was not stationary but was mid-U-turn at the time of impact. The eyewitness also noted that Kolapoz was fully kitted in protective riding gear and that the driver of the other vehicle did not flee the scene. These details have not been independently confirmed.

What has been confirmed is that an ambulance arrived at the scene within minutes, and officials of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority responded quickly. Kolapoz was initially taken to the Federal Road Safety Corps emergency unit at 7UP, Ojota, before being transferred to the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi-Araba. He died in the early hours of Monday, March 2, though some friends who were close to him have disputed this timeline, insisting he died on the spot.

The arc of the story is difficult to ignore. On January 15, 46 days before his death, Kolapoz announced on X that he had fulfilled a lifelong ambition. "I recently became a new biker. One of my life dreams clocked and achieved! I won't fall and die on this -Amen!" he wrote, alongside a photo of himself with his new motorcycle. On February 24, he shared a WhatsApp conversation with his mother on Facebook. Many online have since revisited the exchange, describing it as a premonition, though the content of the chat has not been fully reproduced in verified reports.

His death has drawn an outpouring of tributes online. Friends described him as someone who fought publicly for victims of scams and oppression, causes unrelated to photography or biking, but which had earned him a wide, loyal following.

The exact circumstances of the crash remain under-reported. No official statement has been issued by traffic or road safety authorities.

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