The Court of Appeal in Ilorin, which is in Kwara State, confirmed the death penalties for five men who were found guilty of the Offa bank robbery in 2018. The court rejected their appeals because they did not have enough grounds to be considered valid.
The Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) in the state, Mohammed Akande, shared with reporters who were covering the case that the three judges from the Appeal Court all agreed on the decision.
They confirmed the earlier ruling made by the High Court, which sentenced five individuals to die by hanging.
Today, Friday, the Court of Appeal in Ilorin, made up of Hon. Justice Ridwan Maiwada Abdullahi JCA, Hon. Justice Gabriel Kolawole JCA, and Hon. Justice Abdul Dogo, upheld the decision made by Hon. Justice H. A. Saleeman from the Kwara State High Court.
This decision had sentenced the Appellants, Niyi Ogundiran, Salawu Azeez, Ibikunle Ogunleye, Ayoade Akinnibosun, and Adeola Adeola Abraham, to death by hanging due to their roles in the Offa Bank Robbery.
Another court official mentioned that the appeals court turned down all the reasons for appeal presented by the people convicted and told them to go back to prison right away.
“The court ruled against all their points and confirmed their guilty verdicts. They have been taken back to prison,” the official stated.
While the convicted individuals can still try to take their case to the Supreme Court, the official pointed out that the reasons they used in the Appeals Court were weak and are likely to fail again at the highest court.
It is remembered that Ayoade Akinnibosun, Azeez Salahudeen, Niyi Ogundiran, Ibikunle Ogunleye, and Adeola Abraham were found guilty of robbery with weapons, having illegal guns, and causing death by crime.
A sixth person involved, Michael Adikwu, who was a former police officer, passed away while in custody before the trial started.
It is also remembered that the guilty verdicts came from a planned bank robbery in April 2018 in the Offa Local Government Area of Kwara State, where five banks were targeted.
At least 32 individuals lost their lives, with nine of them being police officers, two of whom were women, which makes it one of the most fatal bank robberies in the history of Nigeria.
Justice Haleemah Saleeman from the Kwara State High Court previously gave the five people found guilty the death sentence by hanging after a trial that went on for around six years and received a lot of attention across the country.
In her decision, which took more than four hours to explain, Justice Salman stated that the prosecution had shown enough evidence to prove their case clearly.
She said the convicts “acted contrary to the law and allowed their connections with those in power at the time to lead them astray. ”.
In addition to the death sentence, the trial court also sentenced them to three years’ imprisonment for illegal possession of firearms, in line with provisions of Nigeria’s penal laws.
Lead prosecution counsel, Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), described the appellate court’s decision as thorough and well considered, despite the prolonged delays that characterised the trial.
On the defence side, Abdullah Jimba, counsel to one of the convicts, said that preparations were underway to pursue a final appeal at the Supreme Court.
