Justice for Teejay: Lagos Police arraigns driver accused of killing Bumpa CTO

Following her actions that caused the death of Adetunji ‘Teejay’ Opayele, Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Bumpa, the Lagos Police Command has announced that legal proceedings have been initiated against Miss Abiola Adams-Odutayo. The development comes amid the heels of public outcry in demand for justice over the incident.

In its announcement, the Lagos State Command Public Relations Officer, CSP Benjamin Hundeyin, noted that after getting discharged from the hospital, Miss Abiola Adams-Odutayo was arraigned in Court 1, Tinubu, on March 12, 2025, after a thorough investigation. The court then granted her a bail of N1 million and adjourned the case until April 16, 2025.

The accused was charged with driving on a public highway in a reckless and careless manner without due care and attention to other road users, which caused the death of Tunji Opayele.

In addition, the law enforcement agency expressed its recognition of public concerns over the traffic incident, reinstating its commitment to enforcing transparency, fairness, and justice throughout the legal process.

“We @LagosPoliceNG acknowledge public concerns regarding the tragic accident that claimed the life of Adetunji Opayele (Teejay) on March 4, 2025. We extend our deepest sympathies to his family, friends, and all who have been affected by this loss,” it stated.

Also calling the public’s attention to respecting the court process and maintaining tranquility, the Lagos Police Command admonished Lagosians to allow the court processes and proceedings to be fully exhausted by the laws of the land. “Where cases are charged to court…Everyone is enjoined to allow justice to be served in this matter, please,” it added.

See Also: Bumpa Co-founder Adetunji Opayele passes away.

While the Lagos Police Force updated Nigerians on the heated case, there have been reactions on social media surrounding the nature of the charges filed against the accused. Many felt the suit was light-weight and the granting of bail was not justified.

An X user @LaceVine said: “As long as she’s granted bail just forget it. The punishment will be minimal. Don’t let them kill you in this country. May his soul rest in peace.”

Also, @WinWith1k reacted on the nature of offence saying “Thereby “committed an offense?” The offense no get name? Una dey whine Nigerians? Make we dey see how this one go end na.”

Another user, @Ayodeji, who was not also pleased with the charges, noted: “You guys are just terrible how can you charge her for careless driving, no court will hold anybody for that kind of case nah..   You want it to look as if judiciary is the problem.  Chaai..”

@Benjamin reacted to the bail: ‘So nah so d don the grant bail for this kind of case. Na so Una d do for here? Dear young Nigerians aspiring  stars, please leave now if you have the means, even majority of people supporting Tinubu leaves outside Nigeria.”

Public Outcry – “Justice for Teejay”

Upon the tragic death of Teejay, there have been several reactions from the public considering the circumstances surrounding the incident.

At the core of the reaction is a petition demanding justice for Teejay, tagging it as “A Life Cut Short by an Inhumane Driver”. The demand for justice was fueled by a supposed act of negligence displayed by Abiola Oduntayo after she drove carelessly onto the expressway without considering approaching traffic, thereby crashing into Teejay.

A part of the petition reads: “After the crash, Biola Adams-Odutayo refused to step out of her vehicle to check on Teejay. Bystanders and good Samaritans rushed to help, begging her to assist, but she did nothing. When they approached her friend, they were reportedly told: “She doesn’t want blood to stain her car.”

The petition also claimed that what made the pain worse was the shocking behavior of Biola Odutayo and those around her after Teejay was declared dead. According to them, she walked into the hospital and requested for drip, claiming she was in shock, and then attempted to flee.

In one of its requests, the petition demanded that: “Biola Adams-Odutayo must be properly charged with manslaughter also, not just a lesser offence of reckless driving.”

It also demanded that the Inspector General of Police and the Lagos State Commissioner of Police must ensure that due process is followed and that no one is above the law.

As of report time, the petition has received 65,682 signatures.

Adetunji ‘Teejay’ Opayele

Alongside co-founder Kelvin Umechukwu, Adetunji ‘Teejay’ Opayele played a significant role in the founding of Bumpa (Nigerian-based retail automation startup) where both met as students at the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU).

Teejay’s death was a huge blow to the four-year-old startup where he led its technology efforts. In honour of his legacy, the startup has decided to build an AI assistant named Teejay which will always be on Bumpa, providing business insights and solving problems just like he did.

“This is honestly one of the most distressing things I’ve ever been through, and I imagine it’s the same for all of us who were close to Teejay. He wasn’t just a cofounder to me; he was my friend, my brother, my fight partner, and a brilliant engineer. Teejay was family to me, and this is honestly one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to deal with in life,”  Umechukwu reacted.

Under Teejay, Bumpa raised $4 million in a seed funding round in 2022, which it utilized to execute its mission goal of helping underserved SMEs efficiently manage their business. Also in the same year, the startup secured a partnership with Meta thereby allowing merchants to manage their direct messages (DMs) from Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp directly on Bumpa without having to go to any of the Meta platforms.

Before his work with Bumpa, Teejay had gathered a couple of experiences. He had an extensive career in software development, holding roles in both Nigeria and the United States, including positions with Nigerian financial services provider E-Settlement and web hosting company HostCabal, which he founded.