Mother of 22-year-old Oluwabamise Ayanwola, who was abducted and killed after boarding a Lagos Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) vehicle in Ajah, Lagos, has cried for justice over her daughter’s death.
Mrs Comfort Ayanwola, 72, said her daughter was planning big for her birthday and “she promised to sew a birthday dress for me days before she was murdered. “I celebrated my birthday some days ago, my daughter promised to give me a new dress as my birthday gift, but the evil people killed her. I love her with all my heart and that is why I am crying out for justice.
“The police and the government should be truthful in their investigation and judgment, so that the outcome will serve as a deterrent to others who are still in the business of ritual killing.
“Is it that the BRT services are no longer safe to transit passengers? Government should not try to cover up for the driver, he should be exposed. The evidence which had gone viral should be enough for the prosecution of the suspect. The driver is now lying that kidnappers pointed a gun at him and dragged my daughter out of the BRT bus he was driving,” Mrs Ayanwola said.
However, the National Association of Women Judges in Nigeria (NAWJN), led by its President, Justice Jumah Sankay, JCA, during a visit to the State Governor, Mr Babagide Sanwo-Olu, at the Lagos House, Marina, reassured the people that justice will be done on Ayanwole’s case by bringing all the culprits to book.
Justice Sankay, commiserated with Governor Sanwo-Olu over Ayanwole’s murder and called on those in the judiciary to work together to bring the offenders to justice, saying judges are committed to taking a strong step against the ‘new virus’ that is taking over the country.
She said: “We believe that, as an association, we have a big role to play. Several incidents have happened. We have had toddlers, infants and young people meeting their untimely death. Advocacy is good, but if at the end of the day, the matters come to court and the judges are not up to the task, then the purpose of all the good works that is done by His Excellency goes to waste.
Speaking further, Justice Sankay said: “The judges know what to do, but I think the time has come that we must apply the heavy hammer. The laws are there to be applied for all offenders who are found culpable. The judges would do their duties according to the law, to serve as a deterrent to other offenders, and this evil shall be eradicated from the society,” she said.
