The Lagos State people’s Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate, Abdul-Azeez Adediran on Thursday night offered financial assistance to the family of the late 22-year-old fashion designer, Oluwabamise Ayanwola, allegedly raped and murdered by a BRT bus driver in February.
The assistance, which was over N500,000, was to help the family pay the accumulating morgue bills of the late young lady still lying in the mortuary over ongoing investigations.
Nine days after she was declared missing, Bamise was found dead on Carter Bridge in Lagos Island, after she boarded a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) vehicle.
After a meeting with the Bamise family member at his Liberty House, Ikeja, Adediran, popularly known as ‘Jandor’, said that he was touched by the family’s pains and plights in upsetting the accumulating mortuary bills.
The governorship candidate who is outside the country to observe lesser Hajj in Saudi Arabia, was represented at the meeting with the bereaved family by the Head, Media and Communications, JandorFunke4Governor Campaign Organisation.
“This incident happened about eight months ago and from the set go, Abdul-Azeez Olajide Adediran is concerned about the circumstances that led to the rape and murder of the young lady.
“He is a man with milk of human kindness visited the family to commiserate, condole and identify with them. He has been keeping in touch to find a way of ameliorating their pains.
“The life of every Lagos resident matter so much to Jandor and that was the interest right form day one and same interest gave birth to this gesture today.
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“When he got the development regarding the morgue requesting that the family pay such huge bill well over N500,000, for any man with empathy, it touches Jandor who decided to clear the bills,” he said.
Ogunleye, who noted that the gesture was not about politics, but the usual way Adediran had been attending to the needs of Lagos residents.
In his response, late Bamise’s brother Oluwapelumi Ayanwola-Abegunde commended the governorship candidate for standing by the family since the incident happened.
Ayanwola-Abegunde said that the family was taken aback when called by the mortuary attendant that the morgue bills had accumulated far about N500,000 and that the family was expected to upset the bills.
He said: “We were marveled because we didn’t take her (Bamise) to the mortuary in the first place.
“So, we went to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) Panti to get clarification but we were told that after the autopsy report, the onus lies on us to pay the bill and upset it. This has been accumulating without out knowledge.
“We are much grateful to Jandor for being moved by the story and offer to assist in upsetting the bills. He has been a man full of empathy to the less privileged and the masses, “Ayanwola-Abegunde said.
According to him, the PDP candidate has personally visited the family when the news of Bamise murder was fresh and has always been in contact with the family, to know how their parents are fairing
“He has shown that he coming and gesture are not political, he really cares and full of empathy.
“He called again that we should come for him to take care of some of these bills and he has done that. So, very soon we will go and upset the bill,” he said.
After the news of Bamise’s death, Andrew Ominnikoron, the driver of the BRT bus which Bamise boarded, was subsequently arrested by officers of the Department of State Services (DSS) in Ogun state.
Ominnikoron is standing trail on five charges bordering on conspiracy, rape and murder, preferred against him by the Lagos State Government before a Lagos High Court sitting in Tafawa Balewa Square.
Bamise went missing after she boarded a BRT bus driven by Ominnikoron at the Ajah axis of the state on February 26.
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