Luxury bus robbery: PTA to sue transport company, denies rape

The Lagos branch of the Parents Teachers Association of Holy Rosary College, Enugu, has threatened to sue Ekene Dili Chukwu Transport Company for negligence.

This decision was taken following the robbery of 42 pupils of the school at Oke-Odo in Ogun State on Saturday when the company’s bus conveying them to Lagos broke down.

About 37 parents met at St. Agnes Catholic Church, Maryland, Lagos, on Wednesday to decide on the course of action. Twenty of the pupils were also in attendance.

The PTA Chairman, Mr. Cyril Akunyili, told PUNCH Metro that the association would take the matter to court.

 

He said, “This is the position of all the parents involved. We are pursuing this matter to a logical conclusion. A seven-man committee has already been constituted to take care of that.

“First, we are suing Ekene Dili Chukwu Transport Line for negligence because when the bus first broke down around Ore, we called them at about 1pm and tried to get another bus for the children but unfortunately it took them several hours to address the situation. It wasn’t until 7pm that we were able to get another bus to leave Lagos for Ogun State.

“On the allegation that some of the children were raped, you can see the girls for yourself here. If they were actually raped by a group of robbers, I believe that it would take them some time to be able to walk properly because they would be in pain.”

He said issue of rape arose because the robbers were said to have ordered the girls to pull off their clothes in a bid to ensure that no one hid any valuables.

One of the pupils who did not disclose her name said, “At about 8.15pm, the bus developed another fault again at Ore.

“This time, we had to wait till another bus came down from Lagos. Not all of us in the first bus were pupils. The driver had also picked up some other adult passengers who alighted and found their way back to Lagos after the bus had broken down for the first time at 1pm.

“Four parents accompanied the bus that came from Lagos to pick us; three men and a woman. This was at about 10pm. When they arrived, we were happy that we would be on our way home at last.

“Somewhere around Ijebu Ode, we met cars parked on the road and we were told that there was a robbery operation ahead.”

The bus’driver was said to have continued with the journey despite the protest from the parents on board.

One of the parents who accompanied the children said, “We quarrelled with the driver not to go forward but he insisted on the grounds that he had to be in Lagos for his first trip by 7am (the next day). Immediately we got to where the armed robbers were, the driver and the conductor escaped leaving us alone.

“The robbers kept shooting, threatening all of us aboard the bus to open the doors for them. We tried to explain that we were trapped as the passenger, compartment could only be opened from the driver’s compartment which we had no access to.

“The robbers shot at the bus and a bullet hit one of the male parents in the eye. Eventually, they forced their way into the driver’s compartment, opened the doors for us, ordered us out and told us to lie on the ground.

“I had about N135,000 on me at the time. I had to quickly hide most of the money in the bus and left N10,000 in my pocket which I handed over to the robbers. While they robbed us one after the other, we heard approaching gunshots. I later learned that it came from a police team from Lagos State.”

PUNCH Metro gathered that a group of policemen from the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, Lagos, were on their way back from Delta State when they learned of a robbery in progress.

It was learnt that when the robbers heard the approaching gunfire, they immediately ordered all their victims back into the bus and threatened to kill anyone who disobeyed.

In the ensuing hurry, only the female parent and about 25 of the girls made it back into the bus before the robbers took control of the wheels and zoomed off.

The remaining 17 girls and three parents reportedly sought refuge in the bush from where they were eventually rescued by the SARS team who also arranged transportation for them back to Lagos.

The alleged rape was said to have occurred after the robbers drove off with the rest of their victims into the darkness.

 The female parent, who was also in the bus at the time said, “When we were all ordered back into the bus or risk being shot, I quickly got back in and started helping the pupils back into the bus.

“But the robbers quickly drove off when it became clear that the police team was close by. They drove for some distance and parked in a bush and began to search us all. We were all beaten up and I can’t really say how many they were; perhaps about four or more.

“After they had taken all our valuables from us, they left. In the morning, we all came out and started walking back to the road. We then saw some policemen with some other parents who had been looking for us.”

The policemen were said to be from the Ogun State Police Command.

She was silent on the issue of rape and declined giving further details.

At the PTA meeting, there was much tension and emotion as parents were urged to come forward for counselling if indeed their children were raped.

The pupils, who waited nearby, erupted in cheers and shouts of joy when their principal, Rev. Sister Mercy Ani, who was said to have flown in from Enugu drove into the church premises to see the parents.

Ani, who did not speak with journalists, went straight to join the parents at their meeting.

Meanwhile, the Ogun State Police Command has said the alleged rape of the pupils will now be investigated.

This was contained in a statement by the command’s spokesman, Mr. Muyiwa Adejobi, on Wednesday.

He said, “The command wishes to make it clear that no one is ruling out the fact that the pupils might have been raped, and this general allegation attracts the command to intensify efforts to carry out a thorough investigation on the suspects with a view to establishing the case of rape or defilement or indecent assault on the victims as the case may be.

“The command wishes to state that such incident and experiences of the girls in the hands of these hoodlums will not be handled with levity considering both social and mental implications of rape; and the culprits will pay heavily for whatever they must have done.”

Culled from PUNCH newspaper