Andrew Ominikoron, a Lagos BRT driver sentenced to death for the rape and murder of passenger Oluwabamise Ayanwola, testified in court that three male passengers were responsible for her death, not him.
Represented by counsel Abayomi Omotubora, Ominikoron claimed he had picked up Bamise at Chevron and later stopped to pick up the three men at Agungi.
According to Ominikoron, one of the male passengers approached him, and under the guise of making a payment, he was unexpectedly struck on the head and held at gunpoint, with the passenger demanding his compliance.
Persecondnews reported that Bamise boarded a BRT bus driven by Ominikoron in the Ajah area of Lagos on February 26, 2022, at 7 pm near the Lekki-Ajah Conservation Centre on the Lekki-Ajah Expressway.
Her disappearance had sparked widespread outrage and a city-wide search, and her body was discovered nine days later on Carter Bridge, Lagos Island.
The offences contravened Sections 411, 223, 260, and 165 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.
During the trial, the state called 11 witnesses who testified against the BRT driver.
The prosecution said that Ominikoron had forcibly had sexual intercourse with the victim before murdering her.
Ominikoron faced a five-count charge brought by the Lagos State Government, including conspiracy, rape, murder, sexual assault, and related counts, stemming from the death of Ayanwola and alleged assaults on Dr. Anosike Victoria and another individual.
Justice Sherifat Sonaike of the Lagos State High Court, sitting at the Tafawa Balewa Square Annexe, delivered judgment on Friday, ruling that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt and sentencing him to death by hanging.
She declared: “For the death of Oluwabamise Ayanwola, you will be hanged by the neck until you are dead. May God have mercy on your soul.”
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