THE Lagos State High Court has sentenced a driver of a bus rapid transit (BRT), Andrew Nice Ominikoron, to death by hanging for killing a 22-year-old fashion designer, Bamise Ayanwola, in 2022.
The court, which sat at the Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS) on Friday, May 2, held that the prosecution successfully established its case, leaning on the doctrine of “last seen” to establish that the accused was guilty.
Ominikoron was arraigned on a five-count charge bothering on conspiracy to commit felony, rape, murder, and sexual assault.
On March 7, 2025, the court reserved judgment in the case.
The judge, Sherifat Sonaike, fixed May 2, 2025, for the judgment after the prosecution and the defence adopted their final written addresses.
Defence lawyer, Abayomi Omotubora, while adopting the final written address, argued that the prosecution failed to provide adequate evidence to establish that the accused was guilty.
He said the prosecution witnesses’ testimonies didn’t directly connect the defendant to Ayanwola’s death.
Omotubora ruled out a voice note sent by the deceased to her friend, describing it as hearsay since the friend wasn’t called as a witness.
The defence argued that the “last-seen” doctrine was not enough for conviction without strong evidence and that a key witness’ testimony needed corroboration.
Meanwhile, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Babajide Martins, urged the court to convict the accused, citing witness testimonies and arguing that corroboration wasn’t required in rape cases under Nigerian law.
The DPP noted that the defendant was last seen with Ayanwola and fled to Ogun State instead of reporting to the police, calling his actions suspicious.
The DPP recalled how the accused was arrested by the State Security Services (SSS) in 2022 and argued that the deceased’s voice note was admissible as a dying declaration under Section 34 of the Evidence Act.
Ominikoron was arraigned in March 2022 before the court over the rape and murder of his passenger on February 26, 2022, at the Lekki-Ajah Expressway.
The prosecution alleged that he conspired to rape and murder his passenger.
He pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Bamise was last seen boarding a BRT bus in Lagos, and her disappearance sparked public outrage.
Her body was discovered on Carter Bridge nine days after she went missing.
A reporter with the ICIR
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