Speaking with SaharaReporters on Monday, Mr James Joel, disclosed that Oluwabamise, a brilliant fashion designer, was working towards establishing a fashion school of her own before her life was cut short.
A close family member of Oluwabamise Ayanwola, a 22-year-old lady, who was declared missing on February 26, 2022, after boarding a Bus Rapid Transit vehicle from the Ajah area of Lagos to Oshodi and whose body was later found by the police, has shared some of the lofty plans the victim had for herself before she was killed.
Speaking with SaharaReporters on Monday, Mr James Joel, disclosed that Oluwabamise, a brilliant fashion designer, was working towards establishing a fashion school of her own before her life was cut short.
He revealed that the young lady was making plans to enrol in a government-recognised institution for fashion and tailoring to further expand her knowledge and skills in the art in preparation for establishing her own centre before the end of the year.
Joel said her killers did not allow her to actualise all her plans before they snuffed life out of her.
Describing the deceased as easygoing and the last child of her parents, he added that Oluwabamise constantly sought to improve in every aspect of her life and planned to achieve a lot of personal targets before the end of 2022.
But unfortunately, tragedy struck.
According to him, the victim’s parents, who are in their 70s and 80s, have been distraught and completely heartbroken following the news of the discovery of her body by the police on Monday.
The murder of the promising young lady has dealt a huge blow to the entire family and their friends, Joel disclosed.
“Her parents are aged and moreover she is the last born of the family, so this makes the magnitude of the incident heavy on them. They are both at home and distraught.
“Bamise was into tailoring, she had a dream of building a huge brand for herself and also to establish a fashion institute but she never lived to achieve those dreams.
“She planned to enrol in a government-recognised fashion school that offers certification before this incident happened.
“She was going to see one of her elder brothers named Pelumi, whose wife was close to delivery when the incident occurred. She was going to stay with them until the woman was delivered of her baby.
“Pelumi’s wife delivered a baby last Wednesday morning. Unfortunately, Bamise never witnessed the arrival of that child. It is a big blow for the family.
“The naming ceremony of the newly born child was supposed to come up on Wednesday but her death has disrupted everything.
“Bamise was hard-working, down-to-earth and focused during her lifetime. It is sad to see her life cut short in such a cruel manner,” Joel said.
Asked if the family will demand the young lady’s body for immediate burial, he disclosed that they will wait for an autopsy to be carried out to know how she was killed.
“We will wait for an autopsy to be conducted on her body before we bury her.
“We are speaking with our lawyer over the incident. As soon as that discussion is done, we will let the public know what our position is.”
Oluwabamise went missing after boarding the BRT with number 240257 heading to Oshodi at about 7:30 pm that fateful day and became suspicious when the driver of the bus told her to sit at the back despite being the only one in the vehicle.
She communicated her concern to a friend all through the journey until minutes later when she could no longer be reached on the phone.
“Around 7:32 pm, she posted ‘God, it is your protection I need’ on her WhatsApp status.
“After repeated calls, her friend said she heard some voices underneath trying to struggle to get the phone from her,” sister of the victim, Elizabeth, revealed.
Shortly after her body was found on Monday, the police in Lagos revealed that the driver of the BRT vehicle, who went into hiding immediately after the incident, had been arrested.
The spokesperson for the police in Lagos, Adekunle Ajisebutu, confirmed the arrest, adding that more details into the matter would be provided later.