“The Nigerian Army should, on behalf of the 9th Brigade, Ikeja Cantonment, Ikeja, apologise in writing to the people of Lagos State. And it should be published in at least two national newspapers.
This is part of the recommendation by the three-man Justice Ebenezer Adebajo tribunal of inquiry which was set up by Governor Babatunde Fashola to look into the July 4, 2014 vandalism of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) vehicles in Lagos.
The tribunal, which held members of the Nigeria army responsible for the crisis, emphasised that apology should be demanded by the Governor of Lagos State from the Nigerian Army.
“The Nigerian Army should, on behalf of the 9th Brigade, Ikeja Cantonment, Ikeja, apologise in writing to the people of Lagos State. And it should be published in at least two national newspapers.”
Submitting the report eight months after it was set up, Justice Ebenezer Adebajo (rtd) said: “The accident occurred on July 3, 2014, when a soldier – late Lance Corporal Matthew Ishaya – ran his motorcycle, with registration number, MUS-565 QB, into a stationary BRT bus, MO63, at the Palmgrove bus stop on the Ikorodu Road.”
He said that the accident occurred outside the BRT corridor, adding: “the soldier caused his death.”
The chairman explained that the BRT was stationary on the highway as a result of low fuel supply and that the BRT bus was left on the highway longer than necessary.
“The late soldier rode his motorcycle without a helmet. This action is against Section 3 (3) of the Road Traffic Law 2012.”
The chairman said that the discovery of Ishaya’s corpse on July 4, 2014, led to the mayhem, saying: “extensive vandalism, burning of BRT buses, destruction of personal phones, harassment of innocent citizens which followed the death of the soldier were caused by soldiers of the 9th Brigade of the Nigerian Army, Ikeja Cantonment.
“For perpetrating this act, the tribunal has recommended that apology should be demanded by the Governor of Lagos State from the Nigerian Army. The Nigerian Army should, on behalf of the 9th Brigade, Ikeja Cantonment, Ikeja, apologise in writing to the people of Lagos State. And it should be published in at least two national newspapers.”
Receiving the report, Governor Fashola promised to act on the recommendation and learn from it, adding: “very soon, we will issue a white paper on it. It will communicate government’s stance on the recommendation and the action that will follow.
“The protection of life and property remain the principal reason for government’s existence. Whenever such occurrence that happened on July 4, 2014 occur, we must do everything to ensure that they it doesn’t occur again.”
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