Oluwaseun Osibanjo, driver of a Lagos State Staff bus, who allegedly drove into a moving train at the Shogunle Level Crossing, Ikeja, on March 9 around 7:00am, has been remanded to a custodial centre by an Ikeja High Court for causing grievous harm and involuntary manslaughter to the passengers.
Although the driver pleaded guilty in the 16-count charge against him, presiding judge, Justice Oyindamola Ogala ordered that the driver be remanded at the appropriate custodial centre, pending the filing and hearing of his bail application as he adjourned the case until May 26 for the commencement of trial. This follows the plea of the Director of Public Prosecution, Dr. Babajide Martins, who asked the court for a trial date and to remand the defendant in a correctional facility.
The defendant was accused of ignoring warning signals, driving into an oncoming train and thereby killing Oreoluwa Aina, Tolulope Emmanuel, Olayinka Rokosu, Ganiyat Salaudeen, Lasisi Isah and Victoria Dada. The action also inflicted grievous bodily inuries on Bolanle Ogunbunmi, Ayomide Shobowale, Sarah Adeleye, Abiola Olarewaju, Esther Ekundayo, Samuel Fagbola, Ismail Bakare, Ayuib Arowoye, Rilwan Abdulazeez and Shiyanbola Murtala. The offence contravened the Criminal Laws of Lagos State, 2015.
Defence councel, Mr Lekan Egberongbe, however, pleaded that the defendant be kept in police custody, for health reasons.
“The defendant was brought from the Federal Medical Centre Ebute-metta this morning my lord. I plead with the court while we await the trial date to allow him be remanded with the police.
While the judge, agreed that the defendant has a right to medical care, he said that the court did not have the medical report of the defendant and therefore, “does not have the power to remand the defendant in police custody, saying if the served “with the necessary medical report … the defendant, should be given proper medical attention.”
