by Godwin Akanfe

The tribunal of inquiry into the road traffic accident, arson and vandalism of some Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) vehicles started its sitting in Lagos on Monday. The Chairman of the tribunal, retired Justice Ebenezer Adebajo, has said that its mandate is to determine the facts surrounding the incident, and make recommendations to prevent future occurrence of incidents of such nature.

The incident, which occurred on July 4, following an allegation that a BRT bus had hit and killed a soldier at the Palmgrove area of Ikorodu Road, led to a breakdown of law and order, and subsequent destruction of some BRT vehicles as well the harassment of innocent citizens, and a major traffic jam which lasted for hours.

As a result, Lagos State governor, Babatunde Fashola on July 21, inaugurated a three-man tribunal of inquiry to look into the cause of the incident in order to avoid future recurrence.

Present at the inaugural sitting were representatives of LAGBUS, Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority, Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, National Union of Road Transport Workers and community leaders.

“On behalf of the tribunal, I give further assurance of our fairness to each and every person or group of persons with special interest in the work of the tribunal,” Justice Adebajo said. “This tribunal has not been constituted to witch hunt or to arrive at a predetermined conclusion. We implore the general public to have confidence in the work of the tribunal and we appeal to those persons who witnessed the happenings on that day to come forward. If anyone harbours any fear of reprisal, again we give assurance of confidentiality where it is requested.”

Adebajo further noted that all the parties of interest, including the military, had indicated a willingness to participate in the public hearing, which would likely be concluded on September 30.

The Attorney General of Lagos State and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Ade Ipaye, on his part said that the essence of the tribunal was to determine the cause of the mayhem as a way of forestalling future recurrence, and urged members of the public who witnessed the incident to come out and give their evidence before the tribunal.

A representative of the civil society organisations, Mr Richard Akinola, observed that the Nigerian Army had no representation at the proceedings. Akinola noted that their attendance was critical to the inquiry as it could lead to identifying those who were responsible for the incident from both sides.

Those expected to testify at the hearing include LAGBUS officials, LASTMA officials, officers of the Nigerian Army and the Police as well as other eye witnesses.

YEditor