By Deborah Akpede
Lagos, March 7, 2022
The 22-year-old lady, Oluwabamise Ayanwole, who got missing in transit on Feb. 26 while on a BRT bus in Lagos has been found dead.
Police spokesman in Lagos State, CSP Adekunle Ajisebutu, said in a statement issued in Lagos on Monday that Oluwabamise’s corpse was found on Carter Bridge by Ogogoro Community on the Lagos Island.
Meanwhile, the Police in Lagos have confirmed the arrest of a Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) driver, Andrew Nice, in connection with the death of Oluwabamise Ayanwole.
The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, CSP Ajisebutu, confirmed the arrest in a statement on Monday.
Ajisebutu said the suspect was arrested by operatives of the Department of State Service (DSS) and has been handed over to the police.
“The driver, who was suspected to be responsible for the abduction and murder of Ayanwole, who got missing on board a BRT bus on Feb. 26, 2022 has been arrested by operatives of the DSS and has been handed over to the police,” he said.
He reassured the public that the suspect (driver) would soon be arraigned in court.
“The suspect will be made to face justice for this murderous act,” he stated.
Ajisebutu appealed to aggrieved persons and sympathisers not to take the law into their hands as the command was doing everything legally possible to ensure justice.
Ajisebutu had said in his earlier statement announcing the discovery of the lady’s remains that: “The corpse has been deposited at the morgue of the Mainland Hospital, Yaba, for autopsy.
“The bereaved family has been contacted and family members have identified the corpse as that of Oluwabamise, the lady earlier declared missing,’’ he stated.
Ajisebutu added that the Commissioner of Police, Abiodun Alabi, was saddened by the incident and expresses his heartfelt condolence to the bereaved family on behalf of the management, officers and men of the command.
The spokesman said further that “the Command is ever-determined and committed to the protection of lives and property of residents in the state and has strengthened its security apparatus to prevent a recurrence of this ugly, disturbing incident.’’
Oluwabamise worked as a Fashion Designer at Chevron Estate, Ajah, and spent weekends at Ota, Ogun State, with her sister.
She was returning to Ota from Ajah on Saturday, Feb. 26 when she boarded a BRT bus with number 240257 going to Oshodi at about 7 p.m. at Chevron Bus-Stop.
Sensing danger as the bus did not pick any other passenger at subsequent bus stops, Oluwabamise engaged a friend using voice notes on her phone
The voice notes showed that the bus driver said he liked Oluwabamise and asked for her name and other details.
She told her friend to pray for her as she became suspicious of the bus driver and in response, the friend told her to alight at Oworonsoki bus stop, way before Oshodi bus stop.
Oluwabamise also sent a video to her friend showing how dark it was in the bus and said: “there are three men and one woman in the bus. The woman is sitting at the back. That’s the number of the bus in case. Please pray for me.’’
That was the last that was heard of Oluwabamise.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) gathered that Oluwabamise’s family held a meeting with the Lagos Bus Service Ltd. (LBSL), operators of BRT on Wednesday, March 2 and the latter assured that efforts were being made to track down the driver.
