IN yet another incident illustrating the pervasive insecurity across the country and its gradual descent into utter chaos, citizen Oluwabamise Ayanwole, 22, lost her life in terrible circumstances in Lagos State on February 26. According to reports, the hapless lady, having just closed from work, was on her way to her elder brother, Pelumi Ayanwole’s residence. The trip was meant to be a pleasant surprise: Pelumi’s wife would soon have a baby and she wanted to be there, as she had always been on such occasions, to lend a helping hand. She had even given a name to the baby yet unborn, her friendship with her sister-in-law being of the extremely close and convivial kind. And so she boarded a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) vehicle, a public facility, somewhere around the Chevron Bus-stop in the Lekki area of the state.
Once in, however, she spotted strange signs. The lights were off and the driver was not stopping at the state-designated bus stops to pick up more passengers after telling her, “Fine girl, it is only you I will pick.” After a while, three persons boarded the bus, including a female. Alert to her environment and apparently in view of the dastardly developments reported across the country, she quietly reached for her phone and started sending voice notes to a friend. In spite of the rather impossible circumstances, the messages were extremely detailed and lucid. But death lurked like Oswald Mtshali’s “dreaded disease” and however hard she tried, she could not ward off its menacing grip. Between Chevron bus-stop in Lekki and Oshodi on the mainland, she was violated and murdered, her body later dumped on Carter Bridge.
If the incident was strange, so was the conduct of the principal suspect and driver of the bus, one Nice Ominikoron. The suspect would not only report for work the very next day, he would actually have carried on his trade if word had not reached him that the law was on his trail. He fled to Ogun State, but the law soon located him. And looking gaunt and guilty as sin, he made rapid confession: he had performed a “dirty act” on the deceased. But all of that was before his next interview where, looking fresh, well-groomed, self-assured and self-confident, he claimed that he had been the victim of armed hijackers whose word was law as he drove Bamise and other passengers on that fateful night. It was these felons, he said, who had dragged Bamise out of the bus, and he could do nothing even when her shrill cries for help rent the air. The suspect has since been remanded in prison while BRT operations have been temporarily suspended.
This incident is, to say the very least, horrendous. Had the victim not left digital footprints, it would have been extremely hard to know the real story because the Nigerian state, notorious for its abracadabra, would easily have chased shadows. Bamise is, without doubt, a martyr for a good cause, a woman of courage who demonstrated great alertness to her surroundings even if she was overpowered by forces beyond her control. It is disturbing that nowhere, not even the seat of power, is safe these days, as outlaws call the shots. Ideally, the lights being off on a bus should mean that it is closed for the day, but Nigeria has its peculiar ways: the lights may be off because they are faulty or because there are none at all.
In any case, there is no need to belabour this case because, at the risk of being repetitive, the deceased left vital clues. In this connection, it is easy to deduce that Mr. Ominikoron’s story does not add up. Just how could a driver who supposedly witnessed an attack by gunmen on his bus and escaped unhurt not report such a case to his superiors or the police? And what was the “dirty act” he admitted committing during his first confession video? The evidence seems to point to sexual assault, particularly as the suspect had apparently managed to spot Bamise’s beauty within the darkness of the night in question. And, what is more, some victims of his alleged sexual assaults have been coming up with the evidence in their possession, and it is up to the police to get to the root of the matter.
Briefing reporters at the Mobolaji Johnson arena in Onikan, the Lagos State governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, said the BRT bus in question had no in-built camera. His words: “There were in-built cameras and trackers in the buses procured abroad for BRT operations. But those acquired locally to shore up the BRT fleet did not have cameras. The particular bus in which the slain victim rode was one of the buses locally supplied.” That being the case, it is now a must for BRT buses to be fitted with in-built cameras going forward. Beyond that, however, a state like Lagos needs to have CCTV cameras all around: the truth would be easily determined if this dastardly incident took place in London or Chicago. Besides, BRT operations should be revamped, especially in the area of background checks on applicant drivers.
On its part, the company’s management should endeavour to always act promptly on customers’ complaints. Failure to do so will lionise errant drivers, causing them to commit bigger crimes. Besides, in allegedly shunning Bamise’s family at the initial stages, the Lagos State police command left room for serious doubts about its commitment to the cause of justice. Apparently, police operations need to be revamped across the country so that witnesses can come forward with vital evidence in cases such as the current one. At the moment, police tactics discourage such, as witnesses are often treated like suspects.
We call for justice in this case, and finding out the whole truth is the way to go. We commiserate with the family and friends of Bamise Ayanwole. May her soul rest in sweet repose.