Lagos State governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on Tuesday said the circumstances surrounding the alleged disappearance and death of a 22-year-old lady, Miss Oluwabamishe Ayanwole, while in transit on a BRT bus, would be fully unravelled, vowing that stiff punishment awaits anyone found culpable in what he described as a “criminal and dastardly act.”
Sanwo-Olu gave this vow while speaking with newsmen during an event held at the Mobolaji Johnson Arena in Onikan to commemorate International Women’s Day (IWD), assuring that the state government remained determined to pursue the matter transparently and to a logical conclusion.
This was just as the governor cautioned those making attempt to twist the issue with unfounded insinuation and conjectures to desist from making comments that might pre-empt the outcome of the investigation being conducted by security agencies.
Governor Sanwo-Olu described those raising allegations of cover-up against the state government as low-minded with no conscience, stressing that there should be no reason for anyone to trivialise an incident that claimed the life of an innocent citizen.
“There is an investigation that is currently going on and because it is a criminal matter, only the police are empowered constitutionally to fully unravel all of the events that happened, which led to the death of the lady. The development has been condemned at the highest level of the government. I personally stand to condemn it and offer condolences to the family of our citizen, Oluwabamishe.
“I have read some narratives and write-ups in the social media in the last few hours. Some people are deliberately and extremely being sensational, posting that the Lagos State government wants to cover something; even my person. These people trivialise life, which appears to me like they just want to score a cheap point. These people are of low minds and have no conscience.
“Our government will certainly not be deterred with such wicked narratives. What we are about is to ensure that we transparently get to the roots of the matter. That is why the police and the Department of State Service (DSS) picked up the driver, who ran to another state, where he was arrested. The full wrath of the law will be applied to whoever is found wanting in this matter. And we will ensure the incident does not repeat itself,” the governor said.
Speaking further, Governor Sanwo-Olu expressed confidence in the ability of the police to conduct a thorough investigation and expose anyone or group of persons behind the death of the bus passenger.
The governor, while reacting to some of the concerns raised by the public on safety measures put in place before the incident, especially on the absence of short-circuit cameras in BRT buses, said there were inbuilt cameras and trackers in buses procured abroad for BRT operations.
He, however, those acquired locally to shore up the BRT fleet did not have cameras, pointing out that the particular bus in which the slain victim rode was one of the buses locally supplied.
He promised that safety measures on Government-owned buses would be improved upon in order to prevent the re-occurrence of similar incidents, cautioning members of the public not to board BRT buses after the close of bus services in the evening.
According to him, buses that have closed for the day would indicate by switching off their inner lights, adding: “When BRT drivers switch off their inner lights, the buses were expected to be taken back empty to their yards.”
“Any bus that has its inner lights on at night is certainly still on service. Once the lights are off and the radar in the bus is not displaying, people should desist from boarding such bus, because it is no longer in service at that period.
“By that time, the checker and conductor would have been out of the bus, except the driver who is expected to take the empty bus back to their yards,” the governor said.
YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
We Have Not Had Water Supply In Months ― Abeokuta Residents
In spite of the huge investment in the water sector by the government and international organisations, water scarcity has grown to become a perennial nightmare for residents of Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital. This report x-rays the lives and experiences of residents in getting clean, potable and affordable water amidst the surge of COVID-19 cases in the state…
Selfies, video calls and Chinese documentaries: The things you’ll meet onboard Lagos-Ibadan train
The Lagos-Ibadan railway was inaugurated recently for a full paid operation by the Nigerian Railway Corporation after about a year of free test-run. Our reporter joined the train to and fro Lagos from Ibadan and tells his experience in this report…
[ICYMI] Lekki Shootings: Why We Lied About Our Presence — General Taiwo
The Lagos State Judicial Panel of Inquiry probing the killings at Lekki Toll Gate, on Saturday resumed viewing of the 24hrs footage of the October 20, 2020 shooting of #EndSARS protesters by personnel of the Nigerian Army…
ICYMI: How We Carried Out The 1993 Nigerian Airways Hijack —Ogunderu
On Monday, October 25, 1993, in the heat of June 12 annulment agitations, four Nigerian youngsters, Richard Ajibola Ogunderu, Kabir Adenuga, Benneth Oluwadaisi and Kenny Razak-Lawal, did the unthinkable! They hijacked an Abuja-bound aircraft, the Nigerian Airways airbus A310, and diverted it to Niger Republic. How did they so it? Excerpts…
Sahabi Danladi Mahuta, a community mobiliser and APC chieftain. Mahuta spoke to select journalists at the sidelines of an Islamic conference in Abuja recently. Excerpts…
and then