Andrew Nice Omoninikoron, the BRT driver who picked Bamise Ayanwole, has made conflicting statements on the circumstances that led to the death of his passenger.
Two videos circulating show Andrew interviewed by members of the press and the police officers on Monday. In the initial interview with police officers, Andrew admitted to committing “dirty acts” against his victim and said she tried escaping through the backdoor of the BRT vehicle.
READ MORE: DETAILED: Bamise Ayanwole’s Final Moments After Boarding BRT
“She was screaming out for help,” Andrew told the police officers. She had started recording the events within the BRT, and she was abandoned after “the dirty acts I had done”, the driver explained to the officers interrogating him.
However, while granting an interview to TVC, Andrew narrated an entirely different story. He said some armed men entered his bus and he only did what they ordered him to do. “When those guys showed me the weapons, I was filled with fear. Whatever they told me to do was what I did,” Andrew claimed.
“The man with the gun sat down there. Whatever he told me to do, I did. We followed that Carter Bridge after the overhead bridge. They ordered me to stop. When they ordered me to stop, they told me to open the door. When I opened the door, when I came down, they started dragging her.
“When I saw her crying for help, I was helpless. I was just thinking she was inside the vehicle holding the iron. So, I moved on. I left her there; I never knew that they had dragged her down already. I have no connection with any one of them.”
Andrew insisted that he was innocent and knew nothing about the harm that befell Bamise, despite admitting to foul play in a previous statement to the police.
READ MORE: Police ‘Arrest’ Driver of BRT Bus Boarded by Late Bamise Ayanwole
Bamise left work on February 26, boarded a BRT driven by Andrew and was found dead on the Old Carter Bridge 10 days after she was declared missing.
The victim’s corpse was confirmed on Monday to be mutilated. One of Bamise’s friends who tried calling her on the night of February 26 heard a struggle and the voice of a man before her phone went off. In a short video, Bamise had revealed that Andrew allowed no other passenger into the vehicle except two men and one woman he let in at a point.
Andrew remains in the custody of the Lagos State Police Command.
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