Court Sentences Lagos BRT Driver To Death By Hanging For Killing Bamise

 

The Lagos state high court sitting at the Tafawa Balewa Square has sentenced Andrew Nice Ominikoron, a driver of Lagos bus rapid transit (BRT), to death by hanging for killing Bamise Ayanwola, a 22-year-old fashion designer.

Justice Sherifat Sonaike delivered the judgement on Friday.

She held that the prosecution successfully proved its case, relying on the doctrine of “last seen” and the victim’s dying declaration to establish Ominikoron’s guilt.

The judge also held that the Lagos State government had been able to prove beyond all reasonable doubts, that the convict committed the crime.

Justice Sonaike declared, “For the death of Oluwabamise Ayanwola, you will be hanged by the neck until you are dead. May God have mercy upon you.”

Although there were no direct eyewitnesses to the incident, the court relied on a variety of circumstantial evidence, including testimonies from a pathologist and a dying declaration from the victim.

The judge concluded that this evidence pointed solely to the defendant as the last person to see Ayanwola before her death on February 26, 2022.

In addition to the murder charge, the court also convicted the defendant of raping a 29-year-old woman, Nneka Maryjane Ozezulu, on November 25, 2021, without her consent.

Justice Sonaike held that the convict had a documented history of raping female passengers on his BRT bus, supported by the testimonies of two victims and the chilling voice note sent by Bamise just before her death, indicating that she did not consent to sexual intercourse with him.

However, the court found that medical reports did not show evidence of penetration, nor was any semen found in the case of Bamise.

The court thus ruled that the charge of rape in her case was not substantiated; instead, the defendant was found guilty of the lesser offence of attempted rape, as established by the prosecution.

The court also acquitted the defendant on conspiracy charges, emphasising that the prosecution had not met the burden of proof for that accusation.

The state had arraigned Omininikoron before the court on a four-count charge of conspiracy, murder and two counts of rape.

The prosecution had informed the court that the convict, on November 25, 2021, raped a 29-year-old lady Nneka Maryjane Ozezulu in Lagos.

The DPP also claimed that the convict conspired with others now at large and forcefully had sexual intercourse with his then 22-year-old passenger, Oluwabamise Ayanwole, a fashion designer, without her consent and murdered her.