Two buses, one belonging to the BRT scheme and the other belonging to the state-owned LAGBUS, were burnt down in Ketu on Wednesday, by angry protesters.
The protest was sparked by the alleged death of a yet to be identified commercial motorcycle driver, who was hit by a LAGBUS vehicle while trying to escape from officials of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority. According to witnesses, the traffic officials were chasing the motorcycle rider from Ketu for allegedly flouting a traffic law. Although, the offence he committed could not be established, several accounts said he carried two passengers and also plied the express lane, as against the state government’s executive order. “When the Okada man discovered that LASTMA were still pursuing him, he tried to cross over to the BRT lane, which is always free, so he can escape,” said a witness who did not want to be named. “Unfortunately, the LAGBUS hit him and he died on the spot.”
The resultant chaos
Immediately the accident happened, bystanders said they called the state’s emergency response lines but the response was not prompt enough to avert the ensuing protest. “I called the 112 number and they answered,” said a witness who gave his name as Johnson. “If they had responded on time, the disaster would not have happened.”
According to Godwin Nwobodo, an Assistant Commissioner of Police at the scene of the incident, the protesters burnt the vehicles when a police team that was trying to maintain order took the motorcycle driver away for medical attention. However, there was no casualty from the incident as passengers, apprehensive of public unrest, had quickly alighted from the two buses, immediately the motorcycle driver was hit. “After the police team took the man to hospital, the miscreants and hoodlums took advantage of their absence to set the buses on fire,” said Mr Nwobodo. “I was even going on another assignment when I saw this and I had to stop to forestall further outburst.” According to him, the motorcyclist did not die, but is currently receiving medical attention. “As I am talking to you now, as of this moment, the man is still alive,” he said, but refused to disclose if any arrest has been made in connection with the event.
Commuters react
Speaking on the crisis, some respondents blamed the motorcyclist for flouting the state’s traffic law while others condemned the traffic officials methods of apprehending traffic law breakers. “It is difficult to catch Okada on motion, that is the first problem,” said Mr Johnson. “The second problem is that Okada people will not comply with the traffic laws as long as LASTMA officials keep collecting bribe from them.”
Contradictory accounts
The state government, however, gave a contradictory account of the events. The Special Adviser to the governor on transport, Kayode Opeifa, said the incident was caused by the “refusal of arrest by a bullion van.” Mr Opeifa told journalists that traffic officials, in a bid to enforce compliance with BRT lane regulations, arrested a “bullion van loaded with money. The plate number of the van is PF 269 XQY.” “This is becoming a recurrent issue where people just use the BRT lane,” he said. “This case is even unnecessary because it happened at a time when there was no traffic.”
According to him, in the process of enforcing the arrest, the occupants of the van “mobilised some people to help prevent the arrest.” Several commercial motorcycle operators who, according to him, do not belong to the recognised motorcycle association, descended on the traffic officials. In the process, they set fire to the two buses. “Nobody died, only one person was injured and he is here,” he said, pointing to a man with a bandage on the right side of his face and whose name was given as Tajudeen Ibrahim.
Tunde Disu, the Managing Director of LAGBUS, said they were still compiling the statistics of other buses that were vandalised. He urged members of the public to always help protect public properties. Samuel Jinadu, the police spokesperson, also said that nobody died in the protest. He, however, contradicted Mr Opeifa’s bullion van account. “It was a commotion that happened between LASTMA and Okada people,” he said. “We were called in to maintain peace and order and we did that successfully.”
Alex Omoteyinshe, the Coordinator of Committee for the Defence of Human Rights, disgreed with Mr Opeifa’s account of what transpired. “It is not possible for LASTMA to arrest bullion van because a bullion van loaded with money will have security attaché,” he said. “Is it possible for an armed security official to solicit the help of Okada people in order to escape being arrested by an unarmed official?”
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