How Lagos tailor disappeared after boarding BRT

There are concerns over the sudden disappearance of Oluwabamise Ayanwola, a tailor based at Chevron Estate in the Ajah area of Lagos State.

Ayanwola, who usually spends the weekend at Ota, Ogun State, had boarded a BRT bus en route to Oshodi around 7pm on February 26, 2022.

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Sensing danger as the bus did not pick any other passenger at subsequent bus stops, Oluwabamise reportedly engaged a friend using voice notes on her phone.

The voice notes indicated that the bus driver said he liked Oluwabamise and asked for her name and other details.

She told her friend to pray for her as she became suspicious of the bus driver and in response, the friend told her to alight at Oworonsoki bus stop, way before Oshodi.

Oluwabamise also sent a video to her friend showing how dark it was in the bus and said, “There are three men and one woman in the bus. The woman is sitting at the back. That’s the number of the bus in case. Please pray for me.’’

That was the last that was heard from Oluwabamise.

However, the driver is currently on the run but the police said a manhunt has been launched for the driver, whose identity had yet to be revealed.

NAN gathered that Oluwabamise’s family held a meeting with the Lagos Bus Service Ltd. (LBSL), operators of BRT on Wednesday, March 2, and the latter assured that efforts were being made to track down the driver.

A family member, Johnson Omilana, who reported the incident at the Akinpelu Police Station, said Oluwabamise had not been seen since she left Ajah on Saturday.

He said, “We met with the BRT general manager and about three other management staff who told us that the matter was being shared on social media and that might jeopardise police investigation.

“The BRT management told us that they were working with the police to make sure the missing girl is rescued. The management also told us that they do not employ drivers directly and that the consultants involved are being sanctioned because of the incident.’’

The Police Public Relations Officer in Lagos, CSP Adekunle Ajisebutu, told Daily Trust on Friday that the guarantor of the fleeing driver had been arrested while efforts were ongoing to fish out the suspect and rescue the lady.

He said, “We are still looking for the driver but his guarantor has been arrested. The Commissioner of Police, Abiodun Alabi, has directed that no stone should be left unturned to locate her whereabouts. The case has been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department, Panti, Yaba.”