It was an emotional scene on Friday as the remains of murdered Bus Rapid Transport passenger, Bamise Ayanwola, were laid to rest at the Atan Cemetery, Yaba, Lagos.
The 22-year-old lady was found dead on March 7, 2022 lying on Carter Bridge by Ogogoro community in Lagos Island, after boarding a BRT bus at the Chevron area of Lekki to Oshodi on February 26, 2022.
The bus driver, Andrew Ominikoron, is facing a four-count charge of conspiracy, rape allegation and murder at a High Court in Lagos.
Sombreness pervaded the milieu at the funeral especially during the prayer session and lowering of the corpse into the grave. City Round observed that family members and sympathisers wept uncontrollably as trumpeters and undertakers accompanied the corpse into the cemetery.
Family members were dressed in black outfits and spoke with our correspondent after the burial.
The victim’s elder brother, Oluwapelumi Abegunde, who was sober while speaking with our correspondent, said they requested the corpse to see the level of damage done to the body after the autopsy.
He said, “She was not in a good shape at all so there were reactions. People cried, mourned, and cursed. The corpse had been tampered with deliberately to know the cause of death.”
He noted that the autopsy was a deliberate decision by the family to confirm the rape allegation against the BRT driver and to ascertain the cause of his sister’s death.
Abegunde decried the controversy surrounding his sister’s death, stating that the incident was a depiction of human nature to manipulate things amid evidence.
He said, “There was controversy even till the point of burial. Today, we have laid her remains to rest yet there are contentions.’’
Also, the victim’s elder sister, Oluwadamilola Abegunde, who described her as kind, lovely and hardworking, noted that the family was denied their request for fiat to attend court sessions.
She explained that the reason for such still remained unclear to the family, urging the state government to ensure justice in the case.
Abegunde said, “She has been buried but her memory lives on. I stopped attending the court sitting because I am not happy with the way they are handling it. The actions of the younger children today said a lot about who she was when she was alive. Well, everyone spoke well of her when the incident happened because she was a good person.”
