How 8 Pupils Escaped Attempted Abduction By Bus Driver And Conductor In Ogun

Akorede Ogunjobi, a bus driver and his conductor, Kazeem Adelere, were attacked by an angry mob after allegedly trying to abduct eight pupils of Oyes Faithful College, Ifo, Ogun state. The suspects would have been burnt at the spot, jungle justice style by the mob, but for the intervention of policemen from the state command who took them into custody.

PUNCH Metro reports that 10 pupils of the school had on Tuesday joined the commercial bus marked, AKD-948-XJ Lagos, at the Techno bus stop after leaving the school.  Two unidentified men sat beside the driver, while the conductor manned the bus entrance. After two of the pupils alighted at their designated bus stop, the driver was alleged to have refused to stop for other pupils. They called again to the driver that they wanted to alight at the next bus stop but he shut them up and continued speeding on the expressway.

A correspondent of Punch Metro was told that one of the pupils in Senior Secondary School 1, Akorede Aliu, 13, jumped off the bus while on motion. He was soon followed by another male Junior Secondary School 1 pupil, Ajibose Fawasi, 11, who was said to have also leaped out of the bus, leaving behind six female pupils. The bus fortunately came to a stop because its path was blocked by a commercial bike.

A lawyer, Isaac Durowoju, who called the police to rescue the suspects from the mob, revealed:

“After two of the pupils alighted at Iya Abiodun bus stop, other pupils observed that the driver took to the fast lane and started speeding. When they told the driver and the conductor where they would alight, the two men laughed at them. While on motion, two boys jumped out at different intervals, but the driver refused to stop. This was what aroused the curiosity of a motorist, who blocked him three bus stops from where he should have stopped.”

It was also gathered that the two kidnappers denied abducting the children but upon further questioning on why they refused to stop after the two boys jumped out of the bus, they began to plead for mercy.

The state commissioner of police, Ahmed Ilayasu, has ordered that the case be transferred to the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department, Eleweran.

Spokesperson for the Ogun State Police Command, Abimbola Oyeyemi, said,

“The case was reported by the proprietress of the school around 5.30pm on Tuesday. When the students closed from school, 10 of them boarded a commercial bus. Two of them alighted at their designated bus stop. But the driver made an attempt to drive the remaining eight pupils to an unknown destination. It was a Good Samaritan who used his vehicle to block the bus when the pupils started shouting. Two of them even jumped out of the vehicle. The case has been transferred to the SCIID, Eleweran, on the order of the CP. At the end of investigation, the suspects would be arraigned in court.”

Parents of the pupils expressed profound gratitude to the Ogun state police department and confirmed that their children were still in shock but doing well.

Photo Credit: Punch