The Lagos High Court sitting at Tafawa Balewa Square has sentenced a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) driver, Andrew Ominikoron, to death by hanging for the murder of 22-year-old fashion designer, Oluwabamise Ayanwola.
Delivering judgment in the case, Justice Serifat Sonaike ruled that the Lagos State Government, which prosecuted the case, had proven beyond reasonable doubt that Ominikoron was responsible for Bamise’s death.
The judge stated: “That for the death of Oluwabamise Ayanwola, you will be hanged by the neck until you are dead. May God have mercy upon you.”
Though no eyewitness account was presented, the court relied on circumstantial evidence, the testimony of the pathologist, and the victim’s dying declaration. These elements, the judge said, all pointed to the defendant as the last person to see Bamise alive on February 26, 2022.
In addition to the murder conviction, the court also found Ominikoron guilty of raping a 29-year-old woman, Nneka Maryjane Ozezulu, on November 25, 2021. The court noted a pattern of sexual assaults involving the defendant, supported by Ozezulu’s testimony and a distressing voice note recorded by Bamise shortly before her death.
However, regarding the allegation of rape in Bamise’s case, the court held that the prosecution failed to prove the charge, as medical reports did not confirm penetration or the presence of semen. Consequently, Ominikoron was acquitted of the rape charge in Bamise’s case but was convicted for attempted rape, which the court said had been successfully proven.
The defendant was also discharged on the count of conspiracy, with the court ruling that the prosecution had not established the necessary proof.
While the Director of Public Prosecutions, Dr. Babajide Martins, urged the court to impose the maximum sentence, defence counsel Abayomi Omotubora pleaded for leniency in his allocutus. Nonetheless, the court handed down the capital sentence for the murder conviction.
