A commercial bus driver, Isaac Popoola,
on Monday died after being allegedly assaulted by two officials of the
Lagos State Traffic Management Authority in the Oshodi area of the
state.
The bus conductor, Aremu Salawu, who
witnessed the incident, said the LASTMA officials, Adesanya Olatunde and
Oludele Ogunrinde, assaulted Popoola at about 6.30am around Brown Bus
Stop resulting in his death.
He said the deceased’s bus with number
plate, XL166SNK, conveying 17 passengers from Igando/Isheri was
approaching Brown Junction when a LASTMA pick-up van crossed the bus.
The leader of the LASTMA officials,
according to Salawu, ordered two of his men to impound the vehicle and
take it to the agency’s office.
Salawu, who narrated the incident on the premises of the police Area F Command,
alleged that Olatunde hit Salawu’s head against the steering and the
door frame of the bus many times before he died.
He said Popoola, 54, was tussling for
the steering with the LASTMA official, who resorted to using the
metallic head of the seat belt to hit the driver’s head in an attempt to
forcibly take over the bus.
Salawu said, “Baba (Popoola) held
on to the steering asking what his offence was. But the LASTMA man
(Olatunde) said it was his commander that ordered him to seize the bus.
“When Baba refused to leave the
steering, the LASTMA man started hitting Popoola’s head against the
steering and the door frame. He did this so many times, until he was
unable to talk again.
“I then rushed to Mosafejo Police
Station where I made a statement and people who were watching the
scenario were able to apprehend one of the LASTMA men (Olatunde). They
brought him to the police station before we were transferred to to Area
F.
“They did not tell him (driver) what his
offence was because no passenger alighted from our bus at a wrong point
and he used his seat belt.”
As at 4pm when one of our correspondents left the Area F Command, Salawu’s body was still lying in the bus.
It was observed that there were no bruises on the head of the deceased.
The 50-year-old wife of the deceased,
Modupe, and his son, Ibukunoluwa, a graduate of Accounting from the
Federal Polytechnic, Offa, Kwara State, along with other sympathisers
were also on the premises of the command
Ibukunoluwa, who spoke with one of our
correspondents, said he had just graduated and awaiting his call-up for
the B Batch of the National Youth Service Corps in February 2013.
He said his father left their house at
16, Ojo Ogundana Crescent, Off Jimoh Akinremi, Jimoh Bus Stop, Akowonjo,
early in the morning of Monday.
“I can’t believe I don’t have a father
again. My father left home very early this morning, only for us to be
informed by his mechanic few hours later that he had died,” Ibukunoluwa
said.
The management of LASTMA has however dissociated itself from the incident.
A statement signed by the General
Manager of the agency, Babatunde Edu, stated the errant officials acted
contrary to the agency’s operational guidelines.
Edu said Olatunde was identified by the
agency’s Provost Marshall and handed over to the police while Ogunrinde
who was reported to be off duty as at the time of the incident was still
at large.
He stated that the officials were in the area to carry out illegal operation.
“The arrested suspect (Olatunde) has
been handed over to Mosafejo Police Station and eventually transferred
to Akinpelu Police Station for further investigation; while effort is on
to arrest other suspect (Ogunrinde),” Edu said.-punch
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