By Bilesanmi Abayomi
The People’s Democratic Party candidate for Kosofe Constituency 1, Babasola Owoaje, has narrated how his fellow state House of Assembly candidate for Ikorodu Constituency 1, Olamide Lawal, was allegedly brutalized by an unknown official of the Lagos State Transportation Management Authority.
Owoaje gave an account of Olamide’s ordeals in a statement seen by the Kosofe Post on Friday evening.
He said, “Yesterday, at 5:28 pm, I got a call from the Honorable Olamide Lawal, the LAHA Candidate for Ikorodu 01, saying, “Sola, LASTMA officials have broken my leg here in Oshodi; please come and get me.” He sounded seriously distressed. We had just left the PCC meeting that was held at 10 Degrees a few moments ago.
“Without hesitation, I rushed down to the LASTMA office in Oshodi. When I walked into the compound, at a far corner, I saw Honorable Olamide on the floor, all alone, in tears, writhing in severe pain as he could not stand up or move. I helped him sit on a stack of tires nearby.”
Narrating what happened, he gave an account of how LASTMA officials stopped him for dropping off two elderly women at the Oshodi bus stop (he stopped right behind a bus dropping off passengers as well, thinking it was the designated bus stop). However, about seven of them tried to forcefully eject him from his car and, in the process, broke his leg.
According to him, “Honorable Olamide was screaming in pain, telling them that his leg had been broken. They laughed and made fun of him as they drove his car all the way from the bus stop to their office. On getting to their office, he was dragged from his car to the floor. Even in tears, they still made fun of him, saying that his leg was not broken and that if it were broken, they would “help him” stamp on the leg so it could “reset” back.”
Owoaje said he asked for the official who allegedly brutalized Olamide but was nowhere to be found.
He said, “I asked around for the demons that did all of these, but they were nowhere to be found. Even some of the officials in the compound made snide remarks, claiming that Honorable Olamide was feigning injury. With the help of another friend, we took him to the Clinix lab, where he did an x-ray. He was then referred to Gbagada General Hospital. There, he was taken in an ambulance to LASUTH for an MRI scan.
“The results show a series of ligament tears and inflammation of the ACL. According to the consultant at Gbagada General Hospital, Honorable Olamide would have to go into surgery to correct all of the above injuries, Kosofe PDP candidate, Owoaje, said.
He adds, “We can not let this slide.
While saying they will explore the possibility of taking the necessary legal actions, he implored stakeholders to see the development as a call to action to end the ruling All Progressives Congress in the state.”
He said, “I implore us all here to take this as a serious call to action to ensure that we end this APC tyranny once and for all.”
The LASTMA Authority could not be reached immediately for a reaction.