He was reunited with them at the hospital facility on the Lagos Island. His mother, Rahmot, who was full of praise for the hospital, told punch metro on Tuesday that he ran away from home.
PUNCH Metro had reported on Friday, January 23, that an accident occurred on the Third Mainland Bridge, and the victims were rushed to the state general hospital. In a follow-up report, our correspondent learnt two of the victims were rescued from the scene by a Good Samaritan who took them to St. Nicholas Hospital.
While one of the victims was identified and visited by his family, Owolabi could not be
identified as he was unconscious.
After about two weeks, the victim came round and identified himself as a bus conductor in
Oshodi. However, nobody could still identify any member of his family.
PUNCH Metro learnt that a housekeeper at the hospital, Rasak Yusuf, decided to search for
Owolabi’s relatives.
He said, “After I had interacted with him for about a week, he told me he worked with one
Baba Ibeji as a bus conductor. So, after taking his picture with my BlackBerry phone, I searched for this Baba Ibeji, who could link us with his relatives.
“It was my off day and I did it voluntarily. I went to Bolade Park in Oshodi and asked for Baba Ibeji. I was asked to go to Sango. At Sango, I was asked to go back to Oshodi and go to another park.”
He said after wandering around for hours, he met a man who took him to a ghetto in Oshodi. He said despite fear for his safety, his perseverance paid off as he met someone who claimed to be a friend of the victim and took him to his aunt who lived in Oshodi.
The aunt, Adeola Lukman, in turn contacted the family in Ede, Osun State.
PUNCH Metro gathered that Owolabi ran away
from home in January 2015, after collecting
N200 from his mother on the pretext that he
was going to Ile Ife.
His mother, Rahmot, said she first learnt that he
was involved in an accident on a radio station.
The mother of five said Owolabi was to write his
final school examinations when he absconded
from home.
She said, “His father died in 1994. He raises
funds for his education, doing menial jobs. But
on January 4, 2015 he said he wanted to travel
to work and needed transport money.
“The next day, I gave him N200. He said it was
not enough, but I told him to manage it. He and
his friend then vanished. The next time I called
him, I was hearing ‘Obalende, Oshodi’ at the
background and when I queried him, he quickly
cut off the phone. I called back, and he begged
me to forgive him that if I knew he was coming
to Lagos, I would not allow him.
“He promised to return three days later, but
suddenly, he became unreachable as he lost his
phone. I came to Lagos to look for him after I
didn’t hear from him three days later.”
She said it was while waiting anxiously for his
return that she learnt of the accident on the
radio.
Owolabi told punch metro he ran away from home in search of money.
He said, “I was a bus conductor in the vehicle
that had accident and we were going to Oshodi.
“I ran away from home because I needed to raise
money. I want to return to school once I leave
here.”
The Administration Manager of St. Nicholas
Hospital, Mr. Kunle Bamigboye, said the hospital
planned to rehabilitate the victim and assist in
his education.
He said, “The hospital cannot put value on what
has been spent on him.
“He was in the Intensive Care Unit, 24 hours
care, and a lot of things were involved. Ever
since he was stabilised, we have taken him as
our responsibility.
“We decided to handle his treatment without
asking for money because it was an emergency,
and that is how it should be. It was after the
treatment we discovered he had no means of
identification.
“The hospital will rehabilitate him and we are
perfecting discussions with his family.”
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