By Benjamin Omoike
An officer said to be attached to the Lagos State Police Command was reported to have died after being crushed by a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) vehicle, on the 13.68-kilometre Oshodi-Abule Egba. BRT is a dedicated lane for the vehicles.
The officer, whose identity was yet to be revealed, was crushed by the bus, supervised by the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA), on the dedicated road constructed at the middle of the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway.
It was learnt that the officer, who rode a commercial motorcycle, popularly called Okada, was allegedly crushed by the BRT around Mangoro Bus Stop end of the dedicated lane.
As gathered, the policeman was discovered to have died by emergency officials contacted by residents, after youths and Okada riders, who were angered by the law enforcement officer’s demise, set the bus ablaze to express their displeasure over the accident.
Eyewitnesses told our correspondent that Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), put out the fire ignited by the irate youths, as well as remove the burnt bus from the scene, after military personnel had restored normalcy on the road.
Findings revealed that the accident that claimed the life of the policeman occurred at about 9:00 pm.
A Commercial driver, Olawale Adebayo, who was at the scene, narrated that the deceased policeman, before his death, had a head-on-collision with another motorcyclist while trying to avoid BRT buses plying the dedicated lane.
Adebayo added that after the collision, the victim fell and slipped in front of the BRT bus that crushed him, adding, “before we could notice, the officer had died.”
According to him, the tragedy angered other commercial motorcyclists; after seeing the lifeless body of their colleagues at the scene and they set the bus ablaze.
He stated that the motorcyclists and youths within the community were dispersed by military officers deployed to the scene, allowing the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), to put out the fire, as well as remove the vandalised vehicle from the road.
Reacting to the incident, head of communication for Primero, Mutiu Yekeen, said that the firm was still investigating what led to the attack on the bus.
Yekeen said that all that could be determined presently was that the driver was attacked and the bus set ablaze by irate youths within the community.
“For now, the bus is in our yard and we are currently carrying out investigations on what transpired at the scene. When we are done with the investigations, it will be made known publicly.”
When our correspondent contacted the Lagos Police Command’s spokesman, Adekunle Ajisebutu, he promised to get back but did not.
