Tears as family buries slain BRT passenger, Bamise

When the remains of murdered BRT rider Bamise Ayanwola were buried at the Atan Cemetery in Yaba, Lagos, it was a touching spectacle on Friday.

The 22-year-old woman was discovered dead on Carter Bridge by the Ogogoro neighborhood in Lagos Island on March 7, 2022, after boarding a BRT bus at the Chevron district of Lekki to Oshodi on February 26, 2022.

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At a High Court in Lagos, the bus driver, Andrew Ominikoron, is accused of conspiracy, rape, and murder on four counts.

The funeral was a somber occasion, especially during the prayer time and lowering of the body into the grave. As trumpeters and undertakers led the corpse into the cemetery, City Round saw that family members and sympathizers sobbed hysterically.

After the burial, family members chatted with our correspondent while clad in all-black attire.

Oluwapelumi Abegunde, the victim’s older brother, who was sober when he spoke with our correspondent, said they wanted to assess the body’s extent of damage after the autopsy.

She was in bad shape, therefore there were reactions, the man claimed. People sobbed, wept, and swore. To determine the cause of death, the corpse had been intentionally manipulated.

Abegunde bemoaned the debate surrounding his sister’s passing and claimed that it was a reflection of human nature to distort events in the face of proof.

Even at the time of burial, he claimed, “There was debate. We placed her bones to rest today, yet there are still disagreements.

The victim’s older sister, Oluwadamilola Abegunde, who characterized her as nice, beautiful, and diligent, also mentioned that the family’s request for a fiat to attend court proceedings was denied.

She urged the state government to achieve justice in the matter, explaining to the family that the cause of such was still unknown.

“She has been buried, but her memory lives on,” Abegunde remarked. Because I don’t like how they are treating it, I quit going to court sessions. It was clear a lot about who she was when she was alive from the younger kids’ behavior today. Since she was a lovely person, everyone had good things to say about her at the time of the tragedy.