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Bamise Voice Note Went Viral On Twitter: How Security Operatives Arrested BRT Driver – A Lagos Bus Rapid Transit driver, Andrew Nice, alleged to be involved in the abduction of a 22-year-old tailor, Oluwabamise Ayanwole, has been arrested.

The police also said the remains of the victim had been recovered.

According to PUNCH Metro reeport  Oluwabamise, who closed from work around 7pm on February 26, was on her way to visit her brother, Pelumi, when she boarded the BRT vehicle around Chevron Bus-stop, in the Lekki area of the state.

Bamise Voice Note Went Viral On Twitter: How Security Operatives Arrested BRT Driver - Governor Sanwo-Olu Reacts To The Murder Of The 22 Years Old

The busman, Omininikoron, was said to be conveying the victim to a destination in Oshodi when Oluwabamise observed that he refused to pick other passengers on the road.

She reportedly contacted one of her colleagues at work, Felicia Omolara, to inform her about her suspicion and she was advised to disembark from the bus.

Omolara, however, noted that when her friend no longer responded to her chats on WhatsApp, she called her phone number, adding that when she picked the call, a man was heard arguing with Oluwabamise.

Oluwabamise’s former boss, Caroline Oni, confirmed to our correspondent that her corpse was recovered in the Ebute Ero area of the state.

Bamise Voice Note Went Viral On Twitter

Viral Voice Notes Revealed Missing BRT Passenger Struggle With Her Abductors – Brother Reveals

The said Bamise’s whereabouts had been unknown since she boarded an LBSL bus, popularly known as BRT, at the Chevron area of Lekki en route to Oshodi on February 26, 2022.

According to a report by The PUNCH, the family of a 22-year-old tailor, Bamise Ayanwole, has raised the alarm over her alleged abduction by a driver of the Lagos Bus Services Limited.

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The said Bamise’s whereabouts had been unknown since she boarded an LBSL bus, popularly known as BRT, at the Chevron area of Lekki en route to Oshodi on February 26, 2022.

City Round gathered that the Ekiti State indigene boarded the bus at 7:30pm and became suspicious when the yet-to-be-identified driver told her to sit at one the back seats.

A source, who did not want to be named, said Bamise, who became uncomfortable, sent out voice notes and a short clip to express her concern to one of her friends.

“On her way home, the driver picked up two men and one woman. This made her calm down a bit. Then she told us she would alight at Oworonshoki. We called her and noticed something was unusual about the way she was talking. We tried to reach out to her again but her phone was unreachable; then we waited a bit, thinking it was probably (due to a) low battery, only for her parents to contact us on Sunday that Bamise wasn’t home yet and since then we have been at the Oshodi BRT Terminal 3. We were told to sit and wait for the driver to come. The driver did not show up,” the source added.

In a series of voice notes exchanges between Bamise and a friend, which were shared on social media, she was heard telling the friend in Yoruba that the bus stopped to pick her up but did not pick other passengers.

Sensing danger, she was said to have made a short video showing the silhouette of a driver and what looked like the vehicle number.

The clip, which was obtained by City Round, also showed that the bus was not well-lit.

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Her mother was seen in a video trending on social media wailing in front of a bus numbered, 240257, in one of the terminals of LBSL, said to be the bus Bamise had boarded.

“This is the vehicle that Bamise boarded. It has been parked. They say they cannot find the driver. Bamise boarded the vehicle at Ajah and said she was coming to Oshodi. The vehicle got to its destination but the child did get home. We can’t find her. They must find Bamise for me. I didn’t tell her to go to Lagos to die,” she lamented.

The missing lady’s elder brother, James, told our correspondent on Friday that Bamise was heard struggling with someone on the bus during last phone conversation with her.

James said the family had been having sleepless nights since the 21-year-old went missing.

He said, “The driver took to his heels. As we speak, he is at large. We learnt that he no longer resides where he claimed he resided. It is a case of kidnapping.

“If the driver were available, we may have said it was a case of a missing person. Moreover, she boarded the bus and three people were picked up along the road. When she was called, she didn’t pick up her call. When she picked, she was heard struggling with a man, so this is not a case of a missing person. I believe this (kidnapping) has been ongoing.

“From my little investigation, I discovered that the company does not have proper documentation of their drivers. We learnt that the driver moved from where he claimed to be living over a year ago and his guarantor doesn’t live where he claimed to be living. The company is trying to push us aside and keep it away from the press. Our parents are aware but they aged, so we had to convince them that all is well. But we have been having sleepless nights.”

A woman, Caroline Oni, who identified herself as Bamise’s former mistress, said the family had been informed that LBSL drivers were not officially allowed to pick passengers in the area from 6pm as they were supposed to return the buses empty to the terminal.

Police launch manhunt for driver, arrest guarantor

However, the police said they were investigating a case of a missing person, adding that the suspect’s guarantor had been arrested.

“The case has been transferred to the state CID. We are investigating the case. We have the guarantor of the driver in our custody helping us with our investigation. We are on it. We will continue to update you,” the Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Adekunle Ajisebutu, said.

When contacted, the Public Affairs Officer of the Lagos Bus Services Limited, Afolabi Olawale, said the company would await the outcome of the police investigation before making its position known.

“Presently, the police and the Department of States Services are on top of it,” Olawale said.

When our correspondent asked him whether he could confirm whether the suspect was an employee of LBSL, he said, “It is only the police that will answer that question.”

How security operatives arrested BRT driver, by Lagos CP

The suspected murderer of 22-year-old fashion designer, Oluwabamise Ayanwole, Andrew Nice Omininikoron, 47, was arrested at his hiding place at Ososa, Ogun State by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS), Police Commissioner (CP) Abiodun Alabi said on Monday night.

Omininikoron, who was arrested alongside the owner of the house he fled to, was paraded before reporters at the Police Command, Ikeja.

Although the police refused reporters access to the suspect, The Nation gathered that Omininikoron had denied having any hands in Oluwabamise’s murder.

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It was gathered that that suspect claimed his bus was hijacked by three armed men who threatened him with their gun to cooperate or be killed.

Asked why he fled instead of reporting to the police or his employer, the driver was said to have kept mum.

Addressing reporters on the incident, Alabi said the police and DSS had trailed him to his hideout and were closing in on him before his eventual arrest.

He said it was regrettable that the victim was found dead, debunking claims her private parts were harvested.

The CP said he visited the mortuary and saw the body in the presence of the deceased’s relative who also confirmed she was intact.

Asked if Oluwabamise was raped by her killers, the police boss said that would be ascertained by autopsy.

He also dismissed allegations of attempted cover-up

Alabi said: “We are saddened by the death of Oluwabamise Ayanwole, the 22-year-old lady who was abducted while travelling in a BRT bus from Chevron area, Lekki to Osodi on 26th February, 2022.

“As soon as the report was received by the police, detectives were dispatched and search parties organised to trace the whereabouts of the missing lady.

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Bamise: Why I Ran Away, Lagos BRT Driver Opens Up

The driver of a Lagos Bus Rapid Transit vehicle who drove murdered 22-year-old Oluwabamise Ayanwole has revealed why he ran away after the incident.

The driver who was identified by the police as Andrew Nice explained that he ran away as he was overwhelmed by the circumstances that led to Bamise’s death.

Nice revealed this in a video clip shared on Monday night by the Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotoso, on his Twitter handle.

The suspect, who exonerated himself in the video, noted that he had no connection with the fashion designer’s death but was only following instructions of her abductors who held him and Bamise hostage on the bus.

Explaining what transpired in the bus, he said, “When those guys showed me their weapons, I couldn’t be myself anymore. Fears took over me and Ï only followed orders from the man with the gun who sat close to me.

“I followed the Carter Bridge, and around the overhead bridge, they ordered me to stop there. And when they ordered me to stop, I was asked to open the door, her assailants came down and started dragging her down from the bus.

“When I saw that she was crying for help, actually I was helpless and I had thought she was still in the bus holding on to one of the irons that could help keep her in the bus. In that process and with that thought, I moved on. And that is just the truth.”

Governor Sanwo-Olu Reacts To The Murder Of Bamise, The 22-Year-Old Woman Killed After She Boarded A BRT Bus

Lagos State Governor,  Babajide Sanwo-Olu has reacted to the murder of Oluwabamise Toyosi Ayanwole,  who was found dead after boarding a BRT bus on her way home from work.

The Lagos State Governor condoled with the family of the deceased and promised that the state will leave no stone unturned in investigating Bamise’s death

“I hereby give you my word that justice will be served,” he added.

Governor Sanwo-Olu Reacts To The Murder Of Bamise, The 22-Year-Old Woman Killed After She Boarded A Brt Bus

Bamise, 22, boarded the state-owned bus, BRT, on Feb. 26 while on her way home from work.

During the trip from Lekki to Oshodi, she made a call to someone to complain that she felt uneasy about being in the bus.

She recorded a video to show the person on the other end of the call the dark, empty bus and she asked them to pray for her.

That was the last her family heard from her.

A week passed and her family members went to a BRT bus park to search for the bus she made the video from.

Bamise’s family created a scene at the park and it went viral and finally led to answers.

Ebute Ero residents said Bamise was thrown out of a moving bus on the same day she was last heard from.

Some claim her body was mutilated, with some of her parts missing.

Bamise’s family visited the Ebute Ero police station today and they were taken to the mortuary to identify her body.

Meanwhile,  the driver of the BRT bus has been arrested.

He claims he picked up Bamise and some other men who then pointed a gun at him and asked him to stop at Carter Bridge.

He claims they then asked him to open the door and they dragged Bamise out with them.

He claims he was too afraid to act.

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