Ikeja, Lagos state – The Lagos state high court sitting at the Tafawa Balewa Square on Friday, May 2, sentenced Andrew Nice Ominikoron, a driver of Lagos bus rapid transit (BRT), to death.
Ominikoron was sentenced to death by hanging for allegedly killing Ayanwola Bamise, a 22-year-old fashion designer.
As reported by Channels TV, Justice Sherifat Sonaike delivered the judgment.
Africa Independent Television (AIT) also noted the court’s verdict.
Delivering the verdict, Justice Sonaike 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.
Ominikoron was arraigned on a five-count charge bordering on conspiracy to commit felony, sexual assault, murder, and sexual assault.
Although there was no eye-witness account of the incident, the court relied on a series of circumstantial evidence, the evidence of the pathologist, and the dying declaration of the victim all of which the judge held pointed solely to the defendant as the last person to see her before her sad death in 2022.
Bamise: Convict allegedly notorious for sexual assaults
Furthermore, the court convicted the defendant for the sexual assault of a 29-year-old lady, Nneka Maryjane Ozezulu, on November 25, 2021.
The court noted that the defendant had a history of sexually assaulting female passengers in his BRT bus as submitted by the extrajudicial statements of two victims of his crime – the testimony of Ozezulu, and the terrifying voice note sent out by Bamise just before she died.
The court said the voice note showed that Bamise did not consent to sexual activity with the defendant. However, the court held that medical reports neither showed that the late Bamise was penetrated nor was any emission found in her.
Watch the video of Andrew Ominikoron in court below:
Ayanwola Bamise’s death
Bamise was last seen on February 26, 2022, after boarding a BRT bus driven by Ominikoron at the Ajah axis of Lagos state. Her disappearance sparked public outrage and a widespread search.
Nine days later, her body was found on Carter Bridge in Lagos Island.
An eyewitness stated that Bamise was still alive after she was thrown out of the BRT bus but she could not be treated or rushed to the hospital before she died.
Court sentences gospel singer Osinachi’s husband to death
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that the widower of popular Nigerian gospel singer Osinachi Nwachukwu was sentenced to death by hanging in connection with her death three years ago.
The 42-year-old singer was initially said to have died of throat cancer before her family went public with allegations of domestic violence.
