A human rights organization, Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR), has lambasted the Lagos State House of Assembly for keeping silent on the case of the brutal murder of a 22-year-old female passenger of the Lagos State-owned Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), Oluwabamise Ayanwola, popularly known as Bamise.
The CDHR in a statement signed by its Lagos State Chairman, Kehinde Adeoye, State Secretary, Adewunmi Adesina and State Publicity Secretary, Chika Mary, noted that the state lawmakers ordered a full-scale investigation into the death of the late singer, Ilerioluwa Oladimeji Aloba, popularly known as Mohbad but had kept mute on Bamise’s case since she was killed in February 2022.
Bamise was raped and murdered, according to an autopsy report, inside a BRT bus on Saturday, February 26, 2022, around 7.30 pm between Chevron bus stop, Ajah and Lagos Island while on board BRT No. 240257.
She was returning home from work.
While it commiserated with Mohbad’s family and urged the authorities investigating the singer’s death to unearth the circumstances surrounding his untimely death, CDHR said it “wondered why the Lagos State House of Assembly was quick to lend its voice to the call for the cause of death of Mohbad to be unraveled while ignoring the call to unravel the circumstances surrounding the gruesome murder of 22-year-old Miss Oluwabamise Abigail Ayanwola inside a Lagos State Government facility – the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) being operated by LBSL (Lagos Bus Services Ltd.)”.
The human rights organisation said, “To have kept mute over the brutal murder of Bamise who patronised the BRT bus thinking it was safe but unfortunately met her untimely death inside the vehicle over one year and seven months ago, but in less than two weeks, reacted publicly to Mohbad’s death that the cause of Mohbad’s death should be unraveled leaves much to be desired.”
The organisation described Lagos State House of Assembly’s reaction to Mohbad’s death as “mere hypocrisy”, stressing that its members in large numbers on Tuesday, July 11, 2023 – the day that made it 500 days when Bamise was “murdered in cold blood”, stormed the State Assembly at Alausa-Ikeja, and insisted on seeing the Speaker of the House but after over four hours, the Majority Leader of the House met with them and promised to pass their message to the leadership of the House.
The CDHR further disclosed that an official letter regarding Bamise’s murder case was delivered and received in the office of the House Speaker on July 26, 2023, with the Lagos State Chief Judge; the State Attorney-General and Commission for Justice; the Commissioner of Police; Office of the Clerk of the House of Assembly; Majority Leader of the House; O/C, Civic Engagement – Governor’s Office; Women Advocacy, Research and Documentation Centre (WARD C), all copied in the letter, urging the authorities to prevail on the State Judiciary to give Bamise’s murder case the “accelerated hearing” it promised.
The group noted that nothing had been heard yet from the Lagos State House of Assembly on Bamise’s case which has suffered a series of unnecessary adjournments.
“Only the office of the Chief Judge of Lagos State acknowledged the letter. Justice delayed is justice denied,” it said.
The human rights organisation also challenged the Lagos State authorities to confirm if truly the suspected killer of Bamise, Andrew Nice Ominikoron is still in prison custody.