NEWS
I Did Not Rape, Kill Bamise – BRT Driver Narrates What Transpired That Night
The Bus Rapid Transit driver, Andrew Ominikoron, accused of raping and murdering 22-year-old fashion designer, Oluwabamise Ayanwole, on Thursday, opened his defence at his trial.
Naija News reports that the defendant is standing trial bordering on rape, conspiracy, felony, sexual assault, and murder brought against him by the Lagos State Government
Ominikoron, who testified in his defence before the Lagos State High Court in Tafawa Balewa Square, told the court that he did not rape nor kill Oluwabamise.
He narrated to Justice Sherifat Sonaike that on February 26, 2022, he was on an afternoon shift, which he resumed by 1 pm, and his route was from Oshodi to Ajah.
According to him, he made a round trip and went on the second trip back to Ajah, saying that it was already around 7 to 8 pm. He said he couldn’t continue working but decided to illegally pick passengers while going back to Oshodi, a term he and his colleague call Korokpe.
The charges revealed that the incident occurred on February 26, 2022, around 7 pm, near the Conservation Centre, Lekki-Ajah Expressway, Lagos.
The prosecution alleged that Ominikoron forcibly had sexual intercourse with Oluwabamise Ayanwole before murdering her.
On the last adjourned date on June 24, the trial was stalled due to the defendant’s leg injury sustained in prison.
The court was told that Ominikoron fell in the bathroom on Sunday, June 23, 2024, injuring his left leg, which caused his absence in court.
During hearing on Thursday, the Director of Public Prosecutions, Dr. Babajide Martins, told the court that the case had been stalled since November last year and then told the court that the business of the day was for the defence to open its case.
The judge therefore ordered the defence to open its case. Ominikoron, who was led in his defence witness by his counsel, Abayomi Omotubora, told the court that he picked the late Bamishe at Chevron, and three male passengers at Agungi.
According to him, one of the male passengers was coming forward, and he thought it was to pay him, then the passenger threw something at his head and showed him a gun, asking him to cooperate.
The defendant explained that when they pick up passengers illegally, they usually tell them to sit at the back so that officials of the BRT services on monitoring would not see them in the bus and sanction the drivers.
He said he followed the instructions of the man who asked him to divert his route and told him to put his vehicle on neutral.
The defendant further explained that the light inside the bus was on but it was the dim light since he was avoiding being caught for picking passengers.
Omotubora then called for the audio recording of Bamishe, which was played in the open court.
He then asked Ominikoron if he was aware that the late Bamishe was recording or sending voice notes, and he said he wasn’t, that the first time he heard it was when it was played to him at the Panti Police Station after he had made his statement, but he didn’t understand it because of the language barrier.
The defendant told the court that he didn’t know the three men he picked up at Agungi as he had never seen them before and would not be able to identify them.
He said that in Panti, he was severely tortured and the police asked him to just agree with anything they said.
Ominikoron said, “I was brought out and questioned every 15 to 20 minutes and they continually took my statements.
“I could not write my statements due to the torture, so two to three people questioned me while the writer sat in front and wrote down my response.”
Omotuba then asked for Exhibits 10a, b, 11, and 12. Exhibit 10 was one of his previous statements that was read.
In the statement, he said she sat behind him, and he was telling her that he liked her, but later asked her to go to the back to avoid the LSBS officers from arresting him, and she went to the second to the last seat.
Ominikoron said that at the Osborne area, one of the guys pointed a gun at him and diverted him.
He added that when they stopped, Bamishe was screaming for help while she was being dragged but he couldn’t help because a gun was pointed at him.
Ominikoron said later, the men came down from the bus, then he went to the back to look for her, but when he couldn’t find her, saying that he went back to his seat and drove off until he packed his bus at the toll-gate/7-Up terminal.
He said he went home and was home throughout the next day, being Sunday. Adding that on his way to work on Monday, still in shock, he was called to get to Oshodi.
He said on getting there, he heard that one of his passengers was missing. Ominikoron told the court that he later called one of his friends, Mr Hope, and told him he had a problem with his landlord and in his office so he needed to discuss it with him.
He said he went to Ogun State to meet his friend and told him he wanted to stay there for a while.
When asked if he slept with anyone on his bus, he said he didn’t do that and that the male passengers raped Bamishe and dragged her out.
He said he was shocked, so he couldn’t tell anyone what happened while explaining what happened on Monday.
“While still on my way to work, I was called to the head office in Oshodi to meet Mr Ola. On getting there, I was told not to drive out, but wait.
“Then some of my colleagues were now saying that I did ‘Korokpe’, after saying I didn’t do that, they now said one of my passengers is missing.
“After hearing this, I now found a way to leave the depot because I was afraid that the rumour had got to the office and I remembered that my MD had continually told us that he could not use N1m to chase someone even if it was N100. So, I ran away because picking people illegally is equal to stealing,” he said.
When asked if he knew a certain MaryJane or raped her on November 25, 2021, he said he knew her but didn’t rape her.
He said though they were in a relationship, he had never been intimate with her.
He claimed that the last time they met, he sent her N3,000 for her sick child and started avoiding her because she was always demanding money from him anytime they met.
He was also asked if he attempted to rape Doctor (name withheld) and exchanged phone numbers on December 29, 2021, in Ikorodu; he denied knowing her nor going to Ikorodu on that day.
However, the case was adjourned till October 21, 2024, for the continuation of the defendant’s examination in chief.
Seven teams have already sealed their passage into the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Morocco.
Naija News reports that the race for the upcoming prestigious tournament is getting more intense as the qualifying matches unfold.
Matchdays Three and Four have featured thrilling contests, with teams from 12 groups competing vigorously for the opportunity to showcase their talents on the continental stage.
The seven teams that have confirmed their participation in the tournament include Senegal, DR Congo, Algeria, Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Egypt, and Angola.
The final two rounds of qualifiers are scheduled for next month, with additional teams aiming to join those already qualified.
The 2025 Africa Cup of Nations is set to commence on 21 December of next year, culminating in a grand finale on 18 January 2026.
Meanwhile, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) has explained why the 2025 AFCON qualifying match between the Super Eagles of Nigeria and Libya won’t occur as scheduled.
Naija News understands that the match was originally scheduled to take place in Libya at 8 p.m on Tuesday following the first leg, which saw the Super Eagles triumph over the Mediterranean Knights with a narrow 1-0 victory at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo last Friday.
The return leg was mired in controversy, primarily due to the harrowing experience faced by the Super Eagles players and officials, who reported being stranded at the Libya airport for over 14 hours.
The ordeal ultimately led to their decision to return home rather than participate in the scheduled match.
In a statement released on Tuesday afternoon, CAF said the case between the two nations will be referred to the competent CAF bodies.
NEWS
PDP Is In Crisis Because Supreme Court Allowed Ward Chairman To Suspend National Chairman – Jonathan
Former President of Nigeria, Goodluck Jonathan, has cautioned the judiciary against making pronouncements that can be detrimental to the nation’s democracy.
Jonathan, who spoke on Thursday in Abuja at the 67th birthday celebration of Prof. Mike Ozekhome (SAN), said he is disturbed by the judgements emanating from various courts on political matters in the country recently.
The former Nigerian leader specifically lamented the decision of the Supreme Court that a ward chairman of a political party could suspend the National Chairman of the party.
According to him, the apex court ruling is responsible for the current crisis in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and had also caused problems for the All Progressives Congress (APC) previously.
Jonathan argued that such court pronouncements could be likened to turning a cone upside down, which increases its propensity to fall.
“When a cone is turned upside down, it cannot stand because any little thing that touches it will fall,” Jonathan submitted, noting that such judgements were capable of destabilising the democratic dispensation in the country.
According to him, empowering Ward Chairmen of political parties to suspend their National Chairmen is against the natural course of justice as it is empowering a subordinate to remove his/her superior from office.
“You cannot tell me that the head of a department can expel the vice chancellor.
“Since that judgement was given, it has created all forms of instability. The PDP is in crisis today because of that judgement. The APC also faced the same problem at a time.
“Look at how other nations work; I have never seen where the sub-unit disciplines the principal.
“I am therefore pleading with the Supreme Court to review that judgement because it had turned the cone upside down,” ex-President Jonathan added.
He made the observations shortly after he was brought to the podium by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who was originally named the Chairman of the occasion, but however, while proceeding to the podium to make his remarks, took Jonathan along with him, and announced him as the co-chairman of the event.
The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) has threatened to embark on another nationwide strike over the federal government’s failure to implement its agreements with the union in a bid to enhance the working conditions of its members.
Naija News reports that ASUP issued a 15-day ultimatum to the government on Thursday during a press conference in Kaduna.
Comrade Abubakar J. Abdullahi, the Chairman of the Kaduna Polytechnic Chapter of ASUP, while updating union members on the resolutions made during the Union’s 111th National Executive Council (NEC) meeting, which took place on October 6, 2024, in Abuja, indicated that the 15-day countdown began on October 7, 2024, and upon the conclusion of this period, the NEC will reconvene to determine the appropriate course of action.
He expressed dissatisfaction with the Federal Government’s sluggish response and apparent lack of urgency in fulfilling the agreements established with ASUP.
Members nationwide voiced considerable concern regarding the Federal Government’s inaction, noting that some agreements have been pending since 2010.
“It is important to emphasize, for the public’s awareness, that these agreements are intended to improve working conditions within our institutions and create a more conducive environment for teaching, learning, skill acquisition, and research.
“It is only after exhausting nearly all avenues for amicable resolution that the NEC of our Union has decided to issue a 15-day ultimatum to the Federal Government. This 15-day period commenced on October 7, 2024.
“The Union has directed all its local chapters and zones to prepare for protests, media campaigns, and other peaceful actions during this period, while hoping that the Federal Government will utilize the 15-day window to address the issues and prevent a potential shutdown of all polytechnics across the nation,” he said.
He indicated that the decision stems directly from an evaluation of the government’s response, as highlighted by the Ministry of Education, the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), and the Governing Councils of various polytechnics concerning the Union’s interactions.
In particular, the 111th National Executive Council (NEC) resolved to call for an immediate reassessment and annulment of all decisions made by the Government, NBTE, or Governing Councils that contradict the stipulations of the Federal Polytechnics Act (Amended) 2019.
Additional demands include the prompt resolution and payment of the long-standing CONTISS-15 migration arrears for lower cadre staff, the recommencement and conclusion of the renegotiation process regarding the ASUP and Federal Government agreement from 2010, and the immediate release of the updated conditions of service for the polytechnic sector, among other requests.
He urged for the swift implementation of promotions and the payment of all accumulated promotion arrears in state-owned institutions, as well as the disbursement of outstanding promotion arrears in federal institutions and colleges of education.
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