Headline

10 Things To Do To Be Safe On BRT Vehicles

Published

4 years ago

March 11, 2022

Since the death of a passenger, Oluwabamise Ayanwole, many citizens of Lagos State have been worried about how safe it is to travel on the Bus Rapid Transit vehicles in the state.

The PUNCH had reported that Oluwabamise, who closed from work around 7pm on February 26, was on her way to visit her brother, Pelumi, when she boarded a BRT vehicle around Chevron Bus-stop, in the Lekki area of the state.

Her corpse was later found dumped by the roadside, according to the police who revealed that the driver of the vehicle, Omininikoron Nice, had been arrested.

This led to an outrage and protest on social media and in the streets of Lagos.

To avoid finding yourself in a similar situation as Oluwabamise, here are some tips to keep you safe while travelling on BRT vehicles:

1. Ask if the vehicle has a CCTV camera as most of them don’t have, especially the locally built ones. If the vehicle doesn’t have one, it is advisable to wait for the one that has.

2. If the vehicle doesn’t have a CCTV camera, try to know the vehicle’s licence number, if possible take a picture of it and send it to a relative or friend, alerting them of your journey.

3. Ensure that you are not the only passenger in the vehicle. Make sure that the passengers are about five at least and don’t they look suspicious.

4. In a situation where the passengers in the vehicle are not much, ensure you sit close to the exit or by the window to make yourself visible to other road users.

5. If ever you feel unsafe, make use of the emergency buttons in the vehicle which connects it to the control room. This alerts the officials in the control room to monitor the vehicle’s activities.

6. BRT vehicles do have emergency numbers. Put a call through to one of them if you ever feel unsafe.

7. If travelling at night, ensure that the BRT vehicle has inner lights. This allows other road users to see what’s going on inside the bus.

8. Ensure you alight at your bus stop and not along the road. Object if the driver suggests dropping you by the roadside as this may be a ploy to expose you to ritualists or armed robbers lurking around the corner.

9. Ask questions or raise the alarm if the driver decides to ply a different route other than its designated route.

10. If you had informed your relatives of your journey, ensure you let them know when you alighted safely. This will not only put their minds at rest but will also prevent a situation where the driver of the BRT vehicle will be wrongly accused.

Headline

Gunmen On Motorbikes Kill 22 At Baptism Ceremony In Niger

Published

12 hours ago

September 17, 2025

Editor

Gunmen on motorbikes shot dead 22 villagers in western Niger, most attending a baptism ceremony, local media and other sources said Tuesday.

The shootings happened on Monday in the Tillaberi region, near Burkina Faso and Mali, where jihadist groups linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group (IS) are active.

A resident of the area told AFP that 15 people were killed first at a baptism ceremony in Takoubatt village.

“The attackers then went to the outskirts of Takoubatt where they killed seven other people,” said the resident, who requested anonymity for security reasons.

Local media outlet Elmaestro TV reported a “gruesome death toll of 22 innocent people cowardly killed without reason or justification”.

“Once again, the Tillaberi region has been struck by barbarism, plunging innocent families into mourning and despair,” Nigerien human rights campaigner Maikoul Zodi said on social media.

Niger’s military leaders, who came to power two years ago in a coup, have struggled to contain jihadist groups in Tillaberi, despite maintaining a large army presence there.

Around 20 soldiers were killed in the region last week.

Human Rights Watch has urged Niger authorities to “do more to protect” civilians against deadly attacks.

The rights monitoring group estimates that the Islamic State group has “summarily executed” more than 127 villagers and Muslim worshippers in Tillaberi in five attacks since March.

Meanwhile, the NGO ACLED, which tracks conflict victims worldwide, says around 1,800 people have been killed in attacks in Niger since October 2024 — three-quarters of them in Tillaberi.

Niger and its neighbours, Burkina Faso and Mali, also ruled by military coup leaders who claim to pursue a sovereignist policy, have expelled the French and American armies that were fighting alongside them against jihadism.

AFP

Headline

Serbia Indicts Ex-minister, 12 Others Over Train Station Tragedy

Published

1 day ago

September 16, 2025

Editor

Serbian prosecutors filed an updated indictment on Tuesday against 13 people, including a former minister, over a fatal railway station roof collapse that has triggered a wave of anti-government protests.

The prosecution said all those indicted, among them former construction minister Goran Vesic, face charges of “serious crimes against public safety” over the tragedy that killed 16 people last November.

“The indictment proposes that the Higher Court in Novi Sad order custody for all the defendants,” the prosecutor’s office said in a statement.

The roof collapse at the newly renovated station in Serbia’s second-largest city, Novi Sad, became a symbol of entrenched corruption and sparked almost daily protests.

Protesters first demanded a transparent investigation, but their calls soon escalated into demands for early elections.

The Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office in Novi Sad initially filed an indictment at the end of December, but judges returned it in April, requesting more information.

The accused were released or placed under house arrest following the decision.

The prosecutor’s office said it had complied with the judge’s request and had now completed the supplementary investigation.

The prosecutor specialising in organised crime and corruption in Belgrade is leading a separate, independent investigation into the tragedy.

That investigation is focused on 13 people, including Vesic and another former minister, Tomislav Momirovic, who headed the Construction Ministry before him.

In March, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) launched a third, separate investigation into the possible misuse of EU funds for the station’s reconstruction.

AFP

Headline

Kazakhstan Bans Forced Marriage, Bride Kidnapping

Published

1 day ago

September 16, 2025

Editor

Kazakhstan has banned forced marriages and bride kidnappings through a law that came into effect Tuesday in the Central Asian country, where the practice persists despite new attention being paid to women’s rights.

Forcing someone to marry is now punishable by up to 10 years in prison, Kazakh police said in a statement.

“These changes are aimed at preventing forced marriages and protecting vulnerable categories of citizens, especially women and adolescents,” it added.

Bride kidnappings have also been outlawed.

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“Previously, a person who voluntarily released a kidnapped person could expect to be released from criminal liability. Now this possibility has been eliminated,” the police said.

There are no reliable statistics of forced marriage cases across the country, with no separate article in the criminal code prohibiting it until now.

A Kazakh lawmaker said earlier this year that the police had received 214 such complaints over the past three years.

The custom is also present in neighbouring Kyrgyzstan, where it mostly goes unpunished due to indifferent law enforcement and stigma surrounding whistleblowers.

The issue of women’s rights in Kazakhstan gained media attention in 2023 following the murder of a woman by her husband, a former minister, a case that shocked Kazakh society and prompted President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to react.

“Some people hide behind so-called traditions and try to impose the practice of wife stealing. This blatant obscurantism cannot be justified,” Tokayev said last year.

AFP