Pandemonium broke out in the Onipanu area of Ikorodu Road, Lagos, on Friday after a soldier was allegedly knocked down and killed by one of the buses in the fleet of LAGBUS on the BRT lane.
The soldier was said to have been knocked down after he allegedly rode on the BRT lane and allegedly died as there was no immediate medical attention.
The driver of the bus, it was gathered, fled after the accident.
It was learnt that a few hours after the soldier, identified as Matthew Ishaya, a lance corporal, was knocked down, some military men from the Intelligence Unit of the Nigerian Army at Yaba, stormed the Onipanu area of the highway, demanding to know the circumstances surrounding the death of the soldier.The military men were said to have been incensed that their colleague was allowed to die after he was knocked down when he could have been rushed to a nearby hospital for medical attention.
Hell, however, broke loose shortly after the soldiers sighted the lifeless body of Ishaya in the bus that knocked him down.
They allegedly blocked one side of the ever-busy road, stopping any BRT buses plying the route, four of which were allegedly set ablaze.
The shed at the bus stop was also not spared as it was razed.
Some commuters and pedestrians, passing through the area alleged that they were manhandled by some irate soldiers, who equally barred journalists and itinerant photographers and social media enthusiasts from recording or taking pictures of the mayhem and that of the deceased.
A spokesman for the Army formation in Yaba, Lagos, Rightman Ogeh, however, denied that the soldiers from the unit burnt buses or harassed passersby or commuters.
Ogeh, who spoke to a radio station in Lagos on Friday, admitted that the soldiers from the unit were aggrieved that the man, who was knocked man, was allowed to die because no one took the initiative to rush him to hospital.
He said, “A soldier, who was passing through the bus stop, saw the soldier and called the office because he could recognise him. By the time we got there, we realised that our colleague was inside the bus already dead.
“They said it was a BRT bus that knocked him down. He was riding a licensed motorcycle. So, why was he not taken to the hospital until he died? Of course, our men were angry and we decided that no BRT bus would be allowed to pass through the road. We did not stop others.”
Ogeh denied that the soldiers burnt the busses, accusing miscreants of perpetrating the act.
He said, “When things like this happen, you will hear different versions, but I can tell you that soldiers did not burn the busses. It is possible that some area boys carried out the act. No one was harassed by soldiers; we only stopped some people who were taking pictures and wanting to film the area.”
However, NURTW 1st BRT, the transport company in charge of the operation of blue Bus Rapid Transit buses plying Mile 12-TBS route denied that its bus crushed a soldier along the Palmgrove end of Ikorodu Road on Friday.
The company, through its Public Relations Officer, Nonye Onwumere, said the deceased soldier was not crushed by a BRT bus but ran into a stationary LAGBUS bus and died in the process.
She said, “On Thursday night, a red LAGBUS, which is run by Mutual Assurance and marked Mo63 broke down on the Ikorodu Road before Palmgrove Bus Stop. Early in the morning, around 7.15am, a soldier on a bike, driving on top speed, rammed into the stationary bus.
“After the accident, three female and two male soldiers going to work alighted from a vehicle to help their colleague. After seeing the extent of the accident, they gathered and became violent, stopping all BRT buses and ordering the passengers down. They beat some of the passengers and the BRT personnel and then set some of our vehicles ablaze. They did not even care to know that our BRT are different from the red buses.
“The accident, which was not caused by our vehicle, has caused enormous loss as four of the buses which are not up to a month old have been burnt beyond repair while 13 others have been seriously vandalised. We lost over N100m.”
According to corridor supervisors at the scene, four BRT personnel were beaten and abducted by the soldiers but were later released.
Onwumere said BRT drivers were constantly trained and were not rough drivers.She said apart from the over N100m lost, the company also lost revenue because it had to shut down all operations for the day for fear of being attacked again by the soldiers
The 81 Division of the Nigerian Army also denied reports that soldiers were responsible for the violence.
The Army, in a statement signed by the Deputy Director, Public Relations, Lt.- Col. Omale Ochagwuba, alleged that one of its personnel was killed by a BRT bus, but claimed that soldiers did not carry out reprisals.
Ochagwuba said the bus that killed the soldier was intact in custody of the Army.
He said, “On Friday, between 6.30 and 6.45am, a BRT bus knocked down and killed a soldier around Obanikoro area while on his way to the office. The driver of the bus took the body of the soldier into the bus and attempted to drive away. But when the other soldiers who witnessed the incident rushed to the scene, the driver of the bus ran away with the key. The soldiers then secured the vehicle which was later towed away to safety in our custody.
“Area boys then took advantage of the incident and started attacking BRT buses. From observation, you will discover that the BRT buses bunt are far away from the scene of the incident and that the BRT bus that killed the soldier was not attacked nor vandalised and it is still intact. Our personnel were immediately dispatched to the scene to restore normalcy so that traffic could flow.”
Reacting to the incident, the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, said although he had yet to be formally briefed about the situation, he was aware that the authorities of law enforcement agencies were managing it.
He said, “I have been in touch with the brigade commander, who assured me that he was managing the situation. I am waiting for formal report.
“There is allegation that someone who was not supposed to be on the BRT route was on it.
“As far as I know, if something happens to you while you are conducting an unlawful act. It is criminal offense in its own sense.
“But it is really disappointing that public servants, and that is what soldiers are, paid with tax payers’ money, will act in a manner that has been suggested. But I am waiting for official report and whether the brigade commander has been able to identify the people who committed the offence.”
Fashola added, “I remember in 2006 when soldiers stormed the Area C and set the place ablaze. We just managed to reconstruct the command. If buses that citizens are complaining that are not enough are set ablaze, I do not know how setting ablaze buses recompense any injury that one may have suffered.
“I do not know how damaging public property is the restitution for any injury that may have come. For now, the only thing that I can say to you is that when I get the full fact, I will address the residents, to let them know what happened and what the state action will be.”
source: nigerianeye
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