The family of the late fashion designer, Oluwabamise Ayanwola, on Friday explained why the date given by the police for the conduct of autopsy on the deceased was rejected.
Oluwabamise was declared missing after boarding a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) bus at Lekki area of Lagos on February 26 and found dead some days later.
A member of the Ayanwola’s family, Pelumi, who addressed journalists at Right House in Adeniji Jones Street, Ikeja, Lagos State, said the family rejected the date given by the police for conduct of autopsy on their late daughter because of short notice.
He said: “We received an invitation on Wednesday from the police to come and witness Bamise’s autopsy on Thursday.
We rejected it because we felt that such time was not enough for us to gather the family members to witness it and we also deserve to invite our own pathologist because we want fairness.”
Pelumi said without autopsy, the cause of his sister’s untimely death was known to the public.
He added: “Bamise boarded a BRT bus. She was supposed to alight at Oshodi, the driver of the bus did not drop her, it was even the police that took her body to the morgue.
“The following day when we started looking for her, we went to several stations, but they were hostile to us.
“They saw the evidence, listen to the video but they were still helpless. Nobody seems to believe the police any longer as they are not doing their jobs as expected.
It is not even the police that got him arrested, they are incapacitated.
Why is the security of Nigeria not so important anymore? With Bamise’s death, it is obvious that the places of safety are no longer safe, we have many wars to win.
It is a neglect of duty to allow BRT buses to operate and be transporting passengers without security features installed in them; no Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras installed inside them to record happenings while in transit.
“Why is the state in hurry to bury my sister, that is immature?
“How can we bury her when justice has not been served?
“There is no security provided for our parents, we don’t know who is who, different people kept calling but God is on our side.”
The family’s lawyer, Mr. Ayo Ademiluyi, said they rejected the autopsy because it would be conducted by pathologists appointed by the Lagos State government.
“We received an invitation from police that we should come for autopsy a day before it would be performed.
“We rejected it because it will only be conducted by the appointed officials of Lagos State Government alone.
“Lagos State is a party in this case, they cannot be a judge in their own case, they can only be witnesses.”
“It is better for them to invite pathologists that are neutral in this case, ” he said.
