BRT Abduction: Victim’s 72-Year-Old Mother Seeks Gov’s Help, Suspects Arrested

Seventy-two-year-old Comfort Ayanwola, the mother of Bamise, who went missing on a Bus Rapid Transit vehicle being managed by the Lagos Bus Service Limited, has urged the state Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, to intervene in the matter.

PUNCH Metro had reported that 21-year-old Bamise, who closed from work around 7pm on February 26, was on her way to visit her brother, Pelumi, when she boarded the bus around Chevron Bus-stop, in the Lekki area of the state.

The busman, Nice Omininikoron, was said to be conveying the victim to a destination in Oshodi when she observed that he refused to pick other passengers on the road.

Pelumi reportedly contacted one of her colleagues at work, Felicia Omolara, to inform her about her suspicion and she was advised to disembark from the bus.

Omolara, however, noted that when her friend no longer responded to her chats on WhatsApp, she called her phone number, adding that when she picked the call, a man was heard arguing with Bamise.

The aggrieved friend said that was the last time she heard from Bamise, adding that she immediately informed members of her family.

The victim’s mother, while weeping uncontrollably, urged the government and the police to track down the fleeing bus driver.

She said, “Bamise is my last born. She was on her way to her brother’s place last Saturday and when her brother did not see her, he tried her phone number and it has not been connecting since then.

“I heard about it on Sunday evening, so, I started calling her elder siblings to help me look for her. It was when they contacted one of her colleagues that we were informed that she went missing in a BRT bus she boarded. She also provided evidence, including WhatsApp voice notes and a video my daughter recorded on the bus.

“The last time she heard from her was when she boarded the BRT bus. She even informed her friend that the driver switched off the light of the bus. If my daughter got down from the bus, she would have called us or at least called her friend to inform her that she had got down.

“We never heard from my daughter. I heard that the driver has absconded. The BRT company in charge of the bus should have details of the driver. I want Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to help me; my children are my benefactors. I want him to help me locate my daughter.”

The state Police Public Relations Officer, CSP Adekunle Ajisebutu, who confirmed the arrest of some suspects, including the guarantor of the fleeing driver, said further updates would be communicated to the public.

He said, “The case has been transferred to the SCIID, Panti, Yaba, on the directives of the state Commissioner of Police, Abiodun Alabi. We are doing everything humanly possible to locate the whereabouts of the lady.

“The case is currently under investigation and I am aware that the guarantor of the driver is in our custody and has been assisting our investigation.

“When we are investigating criminal cases of this nature, from time to time, we give updates. We will let you know if there is any update.”

The Punch