BRT Burning: Army explains why Soldiers went on rampage

The scene of the carnage

More facts are beginning to emerge on the the hell that was let loose on Friday morning on the Ikorodu Road axis of Lagos State following the death of a soldier that was knocked down by a moving bus on the fleet of the Lagos State Government run Bus Rapid Transport (BRT). It was precipitated by a failed attempt by the driver to pick the soldier’s corpse and speed off with it.

SHOWBIZPLUSng gathered from a motorist at the scene of the incident that angered by the death of their colleague, some soldiers who witnessed the incident allegedly resorted to violence by venting their pain on any BRT vehicle in sight.

The Nigerian Army however said its men were not responsible for the buses that were set on fire following the killing of one of its soldiers by a BRT driver “who had also attempted to pick the corpse and speed off.”

It was further gathered that at least a bus in the fleet of the BRT was torched while other operators, fearing they could be affected, parked and took to their heels.
Other motorists also had a tough time wading through the ensuing traffic as there was pandemonium around the axis.
A female motorist told SHOWBIZPLUSng that: “It was chaotic. I could not  go beyond that point. I was going to work and because of the gridlock caused by the incident, coupled with the usual Lagos rush, many people ran out of their locations. It was like a war situation. I was even afraid. I had to resort to prayer asking God to avert war. The soldiers clearly scared everybody with their action. They were just frantically hunting for any available BRT vehicle to be pounced on. I saw at least one of the buses on fire. The sad aspect of it is that I could not proceed with my journey to the office. Now, I am on my way to the house because I got in touch with my office and narrated the incident to them,” she added.
But the Deputy Director, Army Public Relations, Lagos, Lt-Col. Omale Ochagwuba, absolved his men from the disturbances arising from the accident.

He said in a press statement that:
​“This Morning (Friday) between 6:30 – 6:45am, a BRT bus knocked down and killed a soldier around Obainkoro area while on his way to the office.
​“The driver of the bus took the body of the soldier into the bus and attempted to drive away. But when the other soldiers who witnessed the incident rushed to the scene, the driver of the bus ran away with the key.

“The soldiers then secured the vehicle which was later towed away to safety in our custody.
​“Area boys then took advantage of the incident and started attacking BRT Buses.

“From observation, you  will discover that, the BRT buses burnt are far away from the scene of the incident and that the BRT bus in particular that killed the soldier was not attacked nor vandalized and it is still intact.

“Our personnel were immediately dispatched to the scene to restore normalcy. So that traffic could flow. You are please requested to disseminate this information to the public,” Ochagwuba said.