Sanwo-Olu explains why BRT bus boarded by slain Bamise had no CCTV camera

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State says the BRT bus Oluwabamise Ayanwola boarded before her decomposing body was found is among those procured in 2021.

Bamise went missing on Saturday, February 26, 2022, after boarding the BRT bus from Chevron around 7 pm.

Nine days after she was declared missing, her body was found on Carter Bridge at Ogogoro community, Lagos Island with parts missing.

Subsequently, the driver of the BRT bus, Andrew Nice was arrested by officials of the Department of State Services (DSS) in Ogun state.

Commenting on the issue on Tuesday, March 8, 2022, at an event to commemorate International Women’s Day, Sanwo-Olu said the BRT bus the slain Bamise boarded had no CCTV camera because it was among those procured in 2021 from local manufacturers.

The governor said the batch of BRT buses procured from the local manufacturers has no CCTV cameras in them.

He, however, promised that his administration was already talking with the local manufacturers on the possibility of installing CCTV cameras on the buses.

Sanwo-Olu said, “I think it is important to say this. I have seen on social media, people are asking ‘you don’t have CCTV cameras in your cars and vehicles’. No, it is not true.

“In all of our BRT buses that we procured two and a half years ago, all of them have CCTV cameras and trackers. However the additional ones that we bought locally last year are the ones we have not installed CCTV cameras.

“Because you need to do a lot of configuration before you can put CCTV cameras in them so we are speaking with the manufacturers of that. I don’t need to mention names but they were purchased locally. That is the unfortunate one this particular incident happened.”

The governor further advised Lagosians against boarding BRT buses that do not have their lights including the radar lights that show destinations on. 

He said once the lights of a BRT bus are switched off, it means that the bus is no longer in service.

“Any bus that has its inner lights on at night is certainly still on service. Once the lights are off and the radar in the bus is not displaying, people should desist from boarding such a bus, because it is no longer in service at that period.

“By that time, the checker and conductor would have been out of the bus, except the driver who is expected to take the empty bus back to their yards.”

Meanwhile, Nigerians have been demanding justice for Bamise as her gruesome death continues to spark reactions on social media.