by Godwin Akanfe

An eyewitness to the July 4 mayhem on Ikorodu Road, Lagos, which led to the vandalism of some Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) vehicles, on Wednesday claimed that the act was perpetrated by soldiers.

The witness, Razak Mustapha, made the allegation while testifying before a panel set up by the Lagos State Government to unravel the cause of the incident.

The three-man tribunal is chaired by Retired Justice Ebenezer Adebajo.

Mustapha, an employee of Mutual Model Transport, a sub-operator of the LAGBUS, said he was assigned to tow one of their buses which had broken down at Palmgrove Bus Stop, Ikorodu Road. He got there at about 5.30 am on July 4, and was met shortly after by Ikechukwu Umeaku, the company’s mechanic. When they entered the bus, they saw a corpse and immediately disembarked from the vehicle.

“I called my oga, Mr Apata, that we saw a dead body inside the bus, so, he said we should wait for him, so that we can go and report at the police station,” Mustapha said.

While waiting for further directives, Mustapha said a man, who he suspected to be a law enforcement officer, came and saw the corpse.
He said it was the same man who informed some soldiers who were passing by in a Toyota Hiace bus that their colleague’s corpse was inside the BRT bus.

“They came out and entered the bus. They saw the body and checked his identity card. They now placed two soldiers to guard the bus and left.

“It was when they came back that they started shouting and destroying the bus. Then, some started stopping other BRT buses.

“There was confusion and people started gathering. Then, a female soldier came and she started pouring fuel inside the bus.

“After that, I saw three buses; one blue and two red ones, on fire,” Mustapha said.

Corroborating Mustapha’s testimony, Umeaku told the tribunal that he was sent to fix the said bus and two others which were faulty on July 3 at about 9 pm.

He said after fixing the other two vehicles which broke down at New Garage, Ojota and Orile respectively, he could not fix the one at Palmgrove because it was surrounded by area boys, so he went there the next morning and saw Mustapha already waiting for him.

“It was when we were inside the bus trying to repair it that Mustapha told me that there was a dead man inside the bus and that we should come down.

“I did not see the body. It was Mustapha who told me. So, I ran away and went to report the matter to my boss in the depot,” Umeaku said.

The driver of the bus, Zaccheus Folorunso, had earlier testified that the deceased soldier rammed his motorcycle against the vehicle which had broken down.

The Nigerian Army, in an investigative report sent to the tribunal, claimed that the soldier was knocked down from behind by the bus.

Hearing on the matter will resume today.