Lagos House wades into murder of dispatch rider, insists police must ensure prosecution of killer
The Lagos State House of Assembly has insisted that the alleged murderer of a dispatch rider in the state must be prosecuted.
The position was made known through the chairman of the House Committee on Transportation, Honourable Adewale Adedeji, in a statement at the weekend.
The dispatch rider was said to have been attacked by a leader of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Shamsideed Adio, a development that allegedly resulted in the rider’s death.
Adedeji said in the statement that the matter would not be swept under the carpet.
“My attention has been drawn to a video that has been in circulation since Thursday, September 18, showing how a member of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Shamsideen Adio, and his associates snuffed life out of a dispatch rider in an incident that reportedly happened on Tapa Street, Lagos Island.
“The video further showed that even when the dispatch rider became unconscious and efforts were made to resuscitate him, the said Shamsideen continued to attack the victim. For whatever he might have done, the attack remains condemnable.
“As the chairman of the House Committee on Transportation in the Lagos State House of Assembly, I stand to say that the action by Shamsideen is not only barbaric, shameful, inhuman and heartbreaking, but that he must be prosecuted to a logical end by the police.
“The NURTW, to which Shamsideen belongs, should be a professional union and does not deserve members who are lawless, do not see their fellow beings as humans enough or who think that their actions should be overlooked.
“How does one assault his fellow being to the extent of snuffing life out of him without considering that this is a person who has the same rights and privileges like him?
“We can just imagine a dispatch rider who left home to earn a living for himself not returning home because somebody who thinks he is above the law decided to take his life.
“This is an act that must be condemned by every well-meaning Nigerian. The sanctity of human life has no alternative and no human being can be more superior than the other.
“Shamsideen’s case must be handled to serve as a lesson to others like him who do not value life. His friends who joined in the assault should also be brought to book.
“I commend the police in Lagos for acting swiftly in this regard and arresting the main suspect. However, Lagosians want to see that the culprits face the legal consequence of their action. Whatever is the result of the legal action, Lagosians and the likes of Shamsideen will know that nobody has the right to take the life of another person no matter who the person is.
“I also call on the leadership of NURTW in Lagos State, headed by Alhaji Adekunle Mustapha Seigo, to immediately suspend Shamsideen and dissociate the union, while the police continues with their investigations and actions.
“This incident is an eye-opener to the officials of the NURTW for the need for continuous and proper education /enlightenment of members going forward,” he said.
