Lagos inaugurates panel on burnt BRT buses!

The Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola, on Monday inaugurated a three-man panel of inquiry to probe the July 4 burning of some Bus Rapid Transit buses in the state following the death of a soldier.

Inaugurating the probe panel, Fashola described the incident as regrettable, especially as it resulted in loss of life and destruction of property.

According to the Punch, the panel which is chaired by retired Justice Ebenezer Adebajo has as members, Mr Nurudeen Ogbara, a lawyer, and Mr Jude Igbanoi, the Deputy Law Editor of Thisday Newspapers.

They are to investigate the cause(s) of the incident and how the victim died as well as ascertain the actual perpetrators.

The panel is to submit its findings within 60 days.

One of the BRT buses had reportedly knocked down a soldier on motorcycle at Palmgrove on Ikorodu road.

Authorities of the Nigerian Army, however, said hoodlums, not soldiers, were responsible for the violence.

Fashola advised the panel to do its work without hindrance, especially as there were reports that the mayhem was actually caused by soldiers.

The governor, who described the military as a profession of disciplined and noble men, noted that there might be some bad eggs who were giving the army a bad name.

He said, “Societies and institution will fail if men and women fail to do nothing. Like the Nigerian Airways which was the symbol of our pride in 1973, the Nigerian Army is also a symbol of pride to this nation.

“The job of the panel is to find out what happened, how the soldier died, what killed him and what could be done to avoid such accident in future.

“This and many others are the questions that I hope this tribunal will help to unravel and explain to Nigerians.”