Bamise’s murder triggers fear of attack on BRT buses by Lagosians
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Lagos Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) operated by Primero Transport Services (PTS) lost N18 million on Tuesday when it suspended operations in fear of attack by residents over the death of Bamise Ayanwale.
Bamise, 22, was murdered on a BRT bus on 26 February around Ebute Ero on Lagos Island on her way from Lekki to Oshodi. The driver, Nice Andrew Omininikoron, fled but was later apprehended and is now in police custody.
News of her murder broke on Monday and sparked outrage on social media. Angry youths mobilised on social media the same day to protest at the BRT depot in Ojota on Tuesday but they found the place cordoned off by security operatives.
The protest did not hold. BRT shut down, nonetheless, to ward off damage that could still be lurking around.
A source in PTS, who craved anonymity, disclosed that BRT makes about N18 million daily from trips across the state which was lost to the suspension.
“Operations had to be suspended not to punish the commuters but to prevent our busses from being damaged by some people. The memory of the #EndSARS attack [in October 2020] is still fresh and it is important for us to take precautions and prevent reoccurrence,” she told Nairametrics.
“Operations resumed on Wednesday after we [saw] that the coast [was] clear. We did not mean to create discomfort for our amiable commuters but needed to strategise on ways to remain in business for their comfort.”
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Yellow bus operators hike fares
Commuters had a tough time going to work on Tuesday morning and returning home in the evening. They lamented the lack of communication to passengers from BRT operators before the suspension on Tuesday.
Temitayo Adams, who lives in Ikorodu and works with a bank on the Marina on Lagos Island, moaned about the hiked fares she had to pay for travel on yellow buses run by private operators.
“They (BRT operators) could have informed passengers on Monday that they won’t work on Tuesday so that everybody would have arranged alternative transport means to their place of work.
“I still used the BRT on Monday and didn’t hear anything from the workers or at their terminal in TBS,” she told Nairametrics.
Banji Ajayi, a media practitioner who lives around Iyana Ipaja, said he spent double the regular fare commuting to and from work on Tuesday.
His words: “The commercial [yellow] bus operators just explored the situation as they increased the fare by about 100 per cent because they know we had no choice.
“I will not blame the operators of BRT busses outrightly because they had to do everything possible to remain in business. The company must have lost some money on Tuesday but that will still be better than what it lost to #EndSARS vandalisation.”
