“For count four which is the offence of murder of Oluwabamise Ayanwola. Having been found guilty of murder, a capital offence pursuant to Section 301 of the Administrative of Criminal Justice Law, the defendant is hereby sentenced to death.”
The family of slain 22-year-old Oluwabamise Ayanwola has called for the arrest of all accomplices after a Lagos High Court sentenced BRT driver Andrew Ominikoron to death by hanging for her murder. Justice Sherifat Sonaike delivered the verdict Friday, ruling that the prosecution proved Ominikoron’s guilt beyond reasonable doubt in the February 2022 killing that shocked Lagos.
Ominikoron received multiple sentences: life imprisonment for raping another passenger Nneka Udezulu, 14 years for attempting to rape Bamise, and 3 years for sexually assaulting Dr. Victoria Anosike. “The defendant’s acts caused the deceased’s death,” Justice Sonaike declared. Bamise’s body was found on Carter Bridge nine days after boarding Ominikoron’s bus in Ajah, sparking citywide outrage.
While welcoming the verdict, Bamise’s family insisted justice remains incomplete. “All who enabled this crime must face the law,” a family representative stated. The case exposed safety gaps in Lagos’s BRT system, with the convicted driver maintaining his innocence during the October 2024 trial. Prosecutors presented 11 witnesses who detailed Ominikoron’s pattern of sexual violence against female passengers.
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