Confusion over cause of soldier’s death in Lagos

The LAGBUS Asset Management Limited, operators of LAGBUS, on Friday withdrew its buses from the roads following the burning of some of its buses by aggrieved soldiers.
Abiodun Apata, the Project Manager of Mutual Model Transports, one of the LAGBUS Franchises, made this known to the News Agency of Nigeria in Lagos.
The buses were allegedly attacked by soldiers, who were protesting the killing of an army corporal.
But there was confusion over the actual cause of death of the soldier.
The corporal, belonging to the Nigerian Army of Education, was allegedly hit by a BRT vehicle while he was riding a motorbike near the Palmgrove Bus Stop on the Ikorodu Road, Lagos.
The soldier road on the exclusive BRT lane, it was claimed.
However, the operators of LAGBUS have said the late soldier ran into the stationery bus from behind.
Apata said the attack was unfortunate, saying that the luxury buses were withdrawn to avert more damage.
He said: “By 10pm last night, one of our buses broke down at Onipanu.
“By 11pm, a rescue team with a van went to the scene to tow the bus.
“Unfortunately, area boys started stoning our team, which made our men to leave.
“Meanwhile, the driver put on hazard lights and C-Caution to alert motorists of the breakdown.
“By 5am, before the rescue team got to the scene, a corpse had been deposited in our bus and a motorcycle parked behind it.
“When we saw it, we reported the case to the Pedro Police Station, Somolu, but before we got back to the scene, soldiers had burnt down five BRT buses and one belonging to LAGBUS.”
The Head of Operations of BRT, Johnson Oguntade, also told NAN that the withdrawal of BRT vehicles was to prevent more damage.
Oguntade said that the deceased soldier was not hit by a BRT vehicle.
He said: “I do not still understand why we are suffering for what we never caused.
“Why they are burning our buses is not known.”
The alleged accident and withdrawal of the luxury buses left thousands of commuters stranded and crippled commercial activities on Ikorodu Road.
The developments also resulted in traffic gridlock.
Some of the vehicles set ablaze had been towed, while the others are still at the scene as at the time of this report.
Commercial bus operators exploited the situation to increase fares by about 50 per cent.
No BRT ticket vendors were seen at the vehicles’ shelters.
Meanwhile, the Spokesman for the 81 Division of the Nigerian Army, Lieutenant Colonel Omale Ochaguba, has said that the crisis was not caused by soldiers but hoodlums.
“It is true that a soldier was knocked down from behind by a BRT bus, but the destruction of BRT buses was carried out by hoodlums and not our men,” Ochaguba said.
He said that the army had sent out its men to control the situation and assist other security agents in controlling traffic on the road.