LAGOS MOTHER CRIES OUT FOR HELP AS BRT KNOCKS SON DOWN
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A 16-year-old boy, Sunday Afolabi, has sustained severe injuries after being hit by a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) vehicle in the Ilepo Oja, Iyana Ipaja area of Lagos State.
The incident was said to have occurred on April 14, when the BRT driver, who had briefly stopped to allow passengers to disembark, allegedly resumed motion just as Afolabi was attempting to cross the road.
According to his mother, Nike Afolabi, her son had signaled to the driver before crossing, but was struck and dragged by the bus, resulting in critical injuries.
She revealed that the teenager was rushed to the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), where doctors determined he could no longer pass stool through his anus due to the extent of his injuries and had to undergo surgery to defecate through his abdomen.
Nike further alleged that a BRT official initially assigned to follow up on the boy’s condition had stopped visiting the hospital and ceased communication.
Now struggling financially, the mother is appealing for justice and assistance with her son’s ongoing medical treatment.
Narrating the incident, Nike said, “The BRT had stopped, and passengers were alighting from it. My son waved to the driver to indicate that he wanted to cross. As he was crossing, the driver moved the bus, and part of the bus hooked onto my son’s clothes. He was dragged along by the moving bus.
“The bus continued dragging him until he fainted. It was people at the scene who shouted that the bus was dragging my son. The BRT driver was arrested, but the bus was later taken to the station in the area. Other drivers went to the station, and the driver was released to them.
“At the hospital, we were told that if faeces continued to pass through his anus, the injury would not heal. So, they performed surgery and redirected the passage of faeces to his abdominal area. Once the injury heals, they will return it to its proper place. My son is seriously injured and cannot walk at the moment.”
When asked why the boy did not use the pedestrian bridge, she stated, “People are often robbed on it. So, people no longer use the bridge. Miscreants are all over the bridge.”
Also, a lawyer, Saidi Sanni, who visited Sunday at the hospital, told our correspondent that the boy’s buttocks were damaged.
As of the time of filing this report, attempts to reach the spokesperson for the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority, Kolawole Ojelabi, were unsuccessful as he didn’t pick calls or respond to the message sent to him.
Efforts to reach the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, were unsuccessful as well, as calls and messages went unanswered.
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