Temitope Adeogun
Accused of masterminding the burning of about four BRT buses in the early hours of Friday, July 4, at Onipanu area of Ikorodu road, Lagos, the Nigerian army had come out to deny the allegations.
Rightman Ogeh, spokesman for the Army formation in Yaba, Lagos, while admitting that the soldiers from the unit were aggrieved that Mathew Ishaya, a lance corporal was knocked down by a BRT bus and was allowed to die because no one took the initiative to rush him to any hospital, claimed that miscreants and not the soldiers burnt the buses.
According to him, “A soldier, who was passing through the bus stop, saw the soldier and called the office because he could recognize him. By the time we got there, we realised that our colleague was inside the bus already dead”
In addition, Ogeh said “they said it was a BRT bus that knocked him down. He was riding a licensed motorcycle. So, why was he not taken to the hospital until he died? Of course, our men were angry and we decided that no BRT bus would be allowed to pass through the road. We did not stop others.”
“When things like this happen, you will hear different versions, but I can tell you that soldiers did not burn the buses. It is possible that some area boys carried out the act. No one was harassed by soldiers; we only stopped some people who were taking pictures and wanting to film the area,” he added.
It was reported earlier, that the soldiers burnt down BRT buses after one of the buses knocked down and killed one of their colleague. They also stopped every BRT buses plying the ever-busy road.
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