Wife demands body of man allegedly dragged off moving bus by LASTMA officials

by ‘Jola Sotubo

A widow, in Lagos State whose husband allegedly lost his life due to the actions of an official of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), has protested the alleged refusal of authorities to release her husband’s body.

The woman, identified as Tawakalitu, lost her husband Saheed Alabi, a 30-year-old bus conductor, last year after he was allegedly dragged down from a bus by some LASTMA officials at Toll Gate area of Ketu.

His body was reportedly taken to Ikorodu General Hospital and has not been released for burial in spite of protests by his lawyer and family members.

Recalling the incident, Tawakalitu said:

“I was at home the day the incident occurred. My husband’s elder brother, Fatai, called me on the phone and said that my husband had died while he was being trying to stop his vehicle.

“He was said to have been dragged down while the vehicle was in motion and he fell on the pavement and died. We reported the incident at the Ketu Police Station but we have not got any response.

“I was carrying a three-month pregnancy when he died. I have since been delivered of a baby boy named Waris on August 8, 2012. We have appealed to the authorities of the hospital to release his body to us but our appeal has been turned down.

“I feel it is high time we called on the relevant authorities to release the body to us so that we can point to his tomb when the four children I had for him grow up.”

Tawakalit said that life had become a nightmare since the tragic death of her husband and she now lives on charity.

She said: “I don’t have enough money to feed my children or take care of their education. I need help to provide for their needs, especially my baby.

Although the erring LASTMA official offered me N50, 000, I rejected it on the basis of advice from my lawyer.

“Shortly after the incident, some members of a Lagos-based charity organisation visited me and paid my children’s school fees. They even brought some rice and beans for me during the Ramadan period.”

Several petitions forwarded to the police and LASTMA authorities over the matter are yet to yield results as Alabi’s body remains in the mortuary.

A letter written to LASTMA by the counsel to the family, Mr. Omobolaji Adejumo, reads in part: “We hold brief for Mrs. Taswakalitu Rashidi Alabi and Rukayat Alabi, the wives of Rashidi Alabi, the bus conductor dragged down from a moving bus by LASTMA officials, resulting in his untimely death.

“Our brief further revealed that it was on February 5, 2012 that Alabi was killed when he was going about his lawful duty at the Toll Gate end of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway at Ketu.

“The most painful aspect of this scenario is refusing the family the right to bury their dead, which has compounded their sorrow ”

The refusal by authorities of Ikorodu General Hospital to release Alabi’s body to his family and the the notice that abandoned bodies in the hospital prompted the Nigerian Bar Association, Ikeja Branch, to step into the matter last year.

In a letter written by the NBA to the Chief Medical Director of the hospital, dated August 24, 2012, it said: “The attention of the Nigerian Bar Association, Ikeja Branch (Human Rights Committee), has been drawn to a newspaper advertisement of August 19, 2012 by the Ikorodu General Hospital mortuary to the effect that it would give mass burial to bodies in its morgue unclaimed within seven days of the publication.

“We respectfully bring to your notice that the body of one Rashidi Alabi, an alleged victim of a fatal attack by a LASTMA official earlier in the year, precisely sometime in February, lies in the morgue of the Ikorodu General Hospital.

“Please, be further informed that there is an ongoing police investigation into the cause of death of the said Rashidi Alabi, with a view to prosecuting those found culpable of causing his unlawful death.

“Of course, the Coroners Laws of Lagos State prescribe a mandatory coroner’s inquiry into the death of any citizen of Lagos State whose death occurred in questionable circumstances.

“In the light of the above, we hereby humbly request the exception of the body of the said Rashidi Alabi from the intended mass burial.”

Speaking on the matter, Adejumo said: “We think that it is an injustice to a family whose breadwinner was killed in controversial circumstances by law enforcement agents to pay a public hospital for taking custody of his body. Let them release his corpse for us to bury.

“Bear in mind that our clients are Muslims and in Islamic tradition, the dead are buried within 48 hours and the wife stays indoors for 40 days after burial.”

Police spokesperson, Ngozi Braide reportedly said she does not have details of the case but will communicate with reporters as soon as she does. She said: “I don’t have the details now, but I’ll communicate with you as soon as I get the details.”

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