FIVE men involved in the 2018 Offa bank robbery were sentenced to death by hanging by the Kwara State High Court on Thursday, September, 26.

In the judgement delivered by the chief judge, Haleema Saliman, the five suspects were found guilty of conspiracy, armed robbery, two culpable homicide and illegal possession of fire arms.

The defendants convicted were Ayoade Akinnibosun, Azeez Salahudeen, Niyi Ogundiran, Ibikunle Ogunleye and Adeola Abraham.

The judge noted that the video clip presented in court by the prosecutor contradicted the arguments of the defendants.

“The five of you will be hanged by the neck until you are dead. And may the Lord have mercy on your souls.

“It is however unfortunate that we are witnessing these five able bodied men who had all the opportunities to better their lots by living decently.

“And some of them were connected to the powers that be, but they allowed that opportunity to enter their heads and became smart by running afoul of the law and think they would get away with it forgetting that Nigeria is (still) a country where the rule of law operates.

“Their lives cannot be more important than the tens of lives lost in the robbery and murder incident. The court has applied man-made law but vengeance is of God,” she said during the ruling.

Lead prosecutor Rotimi Jacob (SAN), speaking in court about the ruling, stated that the prosecution had proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt and that the judgment was appropriate, maintaining that the six years spent on the case had been worthwhile.

He added that the trial had been concluded and the prosecutors had demonstrated the evidence beyond reasonable doubt for the suspects to be convicted.

Meanwhile, the lead defence counsel, Matthias Emeribe, represented by Adeniyi Zachariyau Jimba, said that the judgment was not surprising, considering the evidence presented in court, it had been envisaged that it would end that way..

The ICIR in 2018 reported how a robbery attack on five banks in Offa led to the death of several persons.

Five banks — Union Bank, Ecobank, Guaranty Trust Bank, First Bank, Zenith Bank and Ibolo Micro Finance Bank — were robbed in the attack that lasted one-and-a-half hours, killing about 50 persons including policemen, vigilantes and other civilians.

The leader of the robbery gang however died in police custody while the other five pleaded not guilty but were convicted in court.