Family decries Lagos State Government’s insensitivity
Thirty-year-old Shehu Akolade, hit by a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) driver, last Wednesday, at Mangoro Bus Stop, along Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway, has lost the battle for his life after four days in a coma at the Intensive Care Unit of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja.
He was confirmed dead on Saturday morning.
The deceased, who left behind a young wife and seven-month-old girl, had since been buried, on the same day, according to Muslim rites.
Doctors at the hospital had battled relentlessly to revive Akolade, who suffered internal bleeding, broken legs and neck, as a result of the impact of the accident.
The deceased was hit by the BRT driver, who immediately drove off from the scene until he was chased by angry youths on motorcycles and stopped at Ile-Epo Bus Stop.
However, the driver was rescued by officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and allowed to leave to avoid a breakdown of law and order and to prevent the bus from being vandalised.
Explaining how it happened, an eyewitness, Mr Olakunle Bibilari, said: “The bus hit the victim suddenly by force, which made him fall to the normal lane away from the fast lane.
“We immediately rushed to rescue the man. On getting there, his legs were already broken, even his hand. We rushed him to the nearby Olukayode Hospital, but since there was no one to stand in for him, he was rejected and brought back to the road. It was the FRSC officials who now took him to Ikeja General Hospital.”
He added that the BRT monitoring team, who later returned to the scene of the incident, told them that the bus had been found, but without a plate number.
The distraught mother of the deceased, Ashiat Akolade and the widow, have been inconsolable by the turn of events.
She had on Thursday called on the Lagos State Government and good-spirited Nigerians to assist the family to assuage the pains of the tragedy by helping with the treatment.
But since Saturday, the family has been grief-stricken over Akolade’s death. They are perturbed that nobody has reached out to the family. since the incident occurred on Wednesday.
