The mother of Oluwabamise Ayanwola, a 22-year-old woman who went missing after boarding a Bus Rapid Transit vehicle (BRT) in Lagos, has accused the Lagos State government of being complicit in her daughter’s death.
Bamise went missing after she boarded a BRT vehicle from Chevron Bus Stop, Ajah to Oshodi around 7pm on February 26, 2022.
During the journey, the fashion designer was said to have observed that the driver was not picking up other passengers at subsequent bus stops along the route.
Disturbed, she messaged her friend and sent voice notes detailing her predicament. It was the last time her friend and family members heard from her and she was later declared missing. She was later found dead on Carter Bridge, according to the Lagos State Police Command.
In an interview with SaharaReporters, the mother claimed that the government’s lack of commitment to the case and the lawyer’s constant requests for adjournment had hindered the prosecution of the suspect.
The mother said: “What I don’t understand is that the lawyer representing the accused driver keeps confusing the whole situation. He behaves like he is the master even on the judges. He may decide not to show up. And anytime he comes, he always asks for adjournment. He has forgotten that he is a father and he will also die one day.
“This is the third month and still no headway, if not for the behaviour of the lawyer and lack of state government commitment on the case, this is because this incident happened inside the government bus, we should have progressed in this case. The people in the government have children like Bamise, why can’t the government fight for me and get justice?
“If the government is not complicit in my daughter’s death together with the driver, an honest judgement should have been given now, i don’t know what the delay is and they are treating us like the voiceless with no support,” she added.
A similar complaint was made by Bamise’s sister in September 2023 when she narrated how the government abandoned the prosecution of her sister’s suspected killer.
She said, “It is a pity that the young ones who are talented are dying at their tender age with their God-given talents and at the age that their glory ought to start shining. Justice has to be done. The Lagos State government must make sure justice is served for Imole (Mohbad).
“Everyone in charge of this case, I mean everyone that has a hand in his death must be brought to book. They shouldn’t do them like they did to my sister Ayanwola Oluwabamise’s case. It is going to two years since my sister was forcefully raped and murdered.
“Justice must be served. The Lagos State government has really failed. They failed all the ladies, they failed all the mothers, they failed all the fathers because all those that have a hand in my sister’s death have not been brought to book yet.
“If not because we, the family of late Bamise, were God-fearing people, things would have happened during that. We want justice for Imole and Bamise.”
