Emmanuel Thomas, Tuesday, May 2, 2023
IKEJA, Nigeria – A Lagos High Court sitting in Ikeja, today remanded a driver of the Lagos State staff bus, Oluwaseun Osibanjo for driving his luxury bus conveying Lagos State workers into a moving train, leading to death of six workers and injuring scores of others contrary to sections 244 and 245 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State, 2015
Justice Oyindamola Ogala ordered that Osibanjo be remanded at the appropriate custodial centre pending the filing and hearing of his bail application and adjourned the case to May 26 for the commencement of trial.
Osibanjo was arraigned on a 16-count-charge bordering on involuntary manslaughter and grievous harm. He, however,pleaded not guilty to the charge. The prosecution, led by the Director of Public Prosecution, Dr. Babajide Martins, thereafter prayed the court for a trial date and the defendant be remanded in a correctional facility.
Martins told the court that the defendant committed the offences on March 9 at 7.00 a.m. on Shogunle Level Crossing, Ikeja, where he drove his bus into an oncoming locomotive train while other vehicles were waiting for the train to pass before they continue the journey.
He submitted that the defendant ignored warning signals and ran into an incoming train and negligently killed many people, including OreOluwa Aina, Tolulope Emmanuel, Olayinka Rokosu, Ganiyat Salaudeen, Lasisi Isah and Victoria Dada. The prosecution also alleged said that the defendant inflicted grievous harm on Bolanle Ogunbunmi, Ayomide Shobowale, Sarah Adeleye,Abiola Olarewaju,Esther Ekundayo, Samuel Fagbola and Ismail Bakare.
Others were: Ayuib Arowoye, Rilwan Abdulazeez and Shiyanbola Murtala. The defence counsel, Mr Lekan Egberongbe, however prayed the court to remand the defendant in a police custody, due to his health reasons.
“The defendant was brought from from the Federal Medical Centre Ebute-metta this morning my lord. I plead with the court while we await the trial date to allow him be remanded with the police. The judge said the court did not have the medical report of the defendant.
“The court does not have the power to remand the defendant at the police custody. f the custodial centre is served with the necessary medical report of the defendant, he should be given proper medical attention,” Ogala said. The prosecution, however, applied that the defendant be remanded and if there was a need for him to get medical attention, the correctional service would provide same.
