Commuter Bus Crushes Three Kids On Their Way To School In Lagos

Tragedy struck at Ijanikin end of the Lagos
Badagry Expressway on Thursday, 10 July, 2014,
when a commuter bus crushed three children to
death while on their way to school.

PUNCH reports that there were protests and obstruction of human and vehicular movement in the area as a result of the tragic
incident that happened close to the Adeniran Ogunsanya
College of Education in Lagos, western Nigeria about
8am in the morning.

It was gathered from eyewitnesses that the
schoolchildren were knocked down while attempting to
crossa the dual Lagos Badagry Expressway.

According to one of the witnesses account, a good
samaritan was assisting some schoolchildren to cross the
busy road when an impatient driver, who refused to stop
when he was begged to stop for the kids to cross, ran
over three of the schoolchildren, killing them on the spot.

It was gathered that all the passengers in the bus,
including the bus conductor took to their heels as soon
as the incident happened, but the driver was
apprehended as he attempted to escape.

The commuter bus was reported to be set ablaze by
enraged people in the area.

A shop owner in the area, who identified herself simply
as Regina, told newsmen that: "This road is usually busy
during the morning hours and the children were running
late to school. They had waited for minutes to cross the
road until a good samaritan decided to help.

"They had crossed the first lane before the incident
occurred. The driver was signaled to stop, but he tried to
swerve in a bid to avoid the children, who were already
in the middle of the road, and I think he lost control of
the vehicle and crushed the innocent schoolchildren."

Through another source it was informed that the bodies
of the schoolchildren had been deposited at the Badagry
General Hospital morgue.

The source stated that some security operatives from the
Nigerian police came to the area to disperse the crowd
that gathered at the scene of the incident and also
evacuated the bodies of the schoolchildren.

"The security men had to shoot into the air to disperse
the crowd that gathered. The atmosphere at the time
was becoming tense as some of the relative of the
deceased schoolchildren were seen weeping
uncontrollably," the source said.

Attempt to reach the Police Public Relations Officer,
Lagos State Command, Ngozi Braide, to confirm the
incident was unsuccessful as her phone lines were said
to be switched off.