A Lagos State High Court, located at Tafawa Balewa Square on the island, has scheduled judgment for May 2, 2025, in the case of Andrew Ominikoron, a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) driver accused of raping and murdering his passenger, Bamise Ayanwola. Justice Sherifat Sonaike set the date after both the defense and prosecution presented their final written arguments.
Andrew Nice Ominikoron, 47, was charged in March 2022 with five counts, including rape, conspiracy, felony, sexual assault, and murder, brought by the Lagos State government. The prosecution alleges that Ominikoron, along with others still at large, conspired to rape and murder 22-year-old fashion designer Bamise Ayanwola on February 26, 2022. According to the prosecution, the defendant had non-consensual sexual intercourse with Ayanwola and then threw her out of a moving BRT bus between the Lekki-Ajah Expressway and Carter Bridge, resulting in her death.
Additionally, the prosecution accused Ominikoron of raping a 29-year-old woman, Maryjane Odezulu, on November 25, 2021, at the Lekki-Ajah Conservation Centre. The charges are based on violations of Sections 411, 223, 260, and 165 of Lagos State's 2015 criminal law.
Ominikoron pleaded not guilty to all charges. During his defense, which began on October 17, 2024, he claimed that three male passengers who boarded his bus after official hours were responsible for raping Ayanwola and throwing her off the vehicle. His defense counsel, Abayomi Omotubora, argued that the prosecution failed to provide sufficient evidence to prove Ominikoron's guilt. Omotubora contended that while the state proved Ayanwola's death, it did not establish that Ominikoron's actions directly caused it. He also criticized the prosecution for not presenting other alleged rape victims to testify and for failing to call the friend who received Ayanwola's voice note as a witness.
The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Dr. Babajide Martins, countered that the state had provided adequate evidence, including clothing from one victim and police testimony. He emphasized that Ominikoron was the last person seen with Ayanwola before her death and highlighted the defendant's flight to Ogun State, where he was later arrested. Martins also urged the court to consider the voice note Ayanwola sent to her friend, expressing fear for her safety, as a dying declaration under Section 34 of the Evidence Act.
After hearing both sides, Justice Sonaike adjourned the case and set May 2, 2025, for the judgment.
READ ALSO: Bamise’s Murder Case: Court Sets March 3 for Final Address Adoption
