The Court of Appeal sitting in Ilorin, Kwara State, has upheld the death sentences imposed on five men convicted for their roles in the 2018 Offa bank robbery, rejecting all the grounds of appeal filed by the convicts.
In a judgment delivered on Friday, the appellate court ruled that the appeals lacked merit and affirmed the decision of the Kwara State High Court, which sentenced the defendants to death after a protracted trial.
“The court has dismissed all their grounds and upheld that their conviction should stand. They have been taken back to the prison,” a court official who witnessed the proceedings said.
The official added, “Although they still have one more right to appeal to the Supreme Court, the reality is that the grounds of their appeals before the Court of Appeal were not convincing. If they rely on the same grounds, the Supreme Court may dismiss them too.”
The convicts — Ayoade Akinnibosun, Azeez Salahudeen, Niyi Ogundiran, Ibikunle Ogunleye, and Adeola Abraham — were found guilty of illegal possession of firearms, armed robbery, and culpable homicide. A sixth suspect, Michael Adikwu, a retired police officer, died in custody before the commencement of the trial.
The convictions stemmed from a coordinated attack on five banks in Offa Local Government Area of Kwara State, an incident that resulted in the deaths of at least 32 people, including nine police officers, two of whom were women.
Justice Haleemah Salman of the Kwara State High Court initially sentenced the defendants to death following a six-year trial that attracted nationwide attention.
Delivering a judgment that lasted over four hours, Justice Salman stated that 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 sentences by hanging, the trial court also imposed three-year jail terms on the convicts for illegal possession of firearms, in line with Nigeria’s penal code.
Reacting to the ruling, lead prosecution counsel, Barrister Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), praised the judgment, describing it as “thorough,” despite what he noted were repeated delays during the trial.
On his part, defence counsel Barrister Abdullah Jimba said his principal was already preparing the required documentation to pursue a final appeal before the Supreme Court.
The judgment represents a significant development in Nigeria’s efforts to combat violent crime, particularly large-scale bank robberies that have drawn public outrage and national concern.
(SAHARA REPORTERS)
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