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 to one of
our correspondents 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.
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