Family Of Bus Conductor Murdered By LASTMA Lament Government Insensivity

For the widow and children of the unfortunate bus conductor that was dragged down from a moving vehicle to his death by a team of Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, LASTMA, Ikechukwu Abasirim, the state government and the police authorities have abandoned them to their fate, showing a complete insensitivity to their plight.

The widow of the 36-year-old deceased, Ini Abasirim, has found it difficult to understand why the government and the police should abandon her and her four young children whose father was murdered by its officials.

Apart from the immediate family of the late man, his extended family is also lamenting the poor treatment the government and its agencies is giving them. The family further expressed dismay that no one from the state government, LASTMA or even the Police had deemed it wise to visit the deceased’s parents or immediate family.

The late Ikechukwu's 74-year-old father, Mr. Abasirim, wondered why all parties allegedly accused of having hands in his son’s death would be trading blames and exonerating themselves rather than attending to the issue at hand.

According to him:

It baffles me beyond description the value we place on human life. My son was killed on October 20, yet no one from the state government, LASTMA or the Police has come to, at least, pay us a condolence visit.

My son was never a thief. He was going about his legal duty when he was crushed by a vehicle carrying LASTMA officials and some policemen. Or is it a crime to be a bus conductor?

But LASTMA said the culprits are not its officials, that they were policemen attached to it. Tell me, if they were not attached to LASTMA, would they have commandeered two buses to be chasing erring motorists on the expressway which is even a federal highway? Why the blame and counter-blame when human life is involved?

The family also expressed surprise over delay on the part of the Police to recover and impound the buses that crushed its son, Ikechukwu Abasirim.

Report had it that immediately the incident occurred, the policemen drove the commandeered buses to LASTMA’s office at Cele, where they released them to their owners, before dashing out of the office.

The family’s lawyer, Kennedy Osunwa, said:

The essence of the police recovering and impounding the buses is to enable them establish evidence against those arrested in connection with the death of Ikechukwu Abasirim, or else the case will be considered as hit-and-run.

Among those arrested are the team’s leader and the Police Corporal that allegedly drove the bus. Since these people are in Police custody, the vehicles involved should be impounded.

Will this be another case of official murder swept under the carpet?