BAMISE'S DEATH: Lagos Government Re-Arraigns BRT Driver For Alleged Kidnapping And Murder

 

Lagos State government, yesterday, re-arraigned a BRT driver, Andrew Nice Omininikoron, for alleged sexual assault and murder of 22-year-old fashion designer, Bamise Ayanwola on February 26, 2022. Omininikoron was re-arraigned before Justice Sherifat Sonaike of a Lagos High Court sitting in Tafa Balewa Square (TBS).

He pleaded not guilty to the five-count charge bordering on rape, conspiracy, felony, sexual assault and murder preferred against him by the state government.
  
Besides Ayanwola's murder, the suspect was alleged to have sexually assaulted one another lady, name withheld sometime in November, 2021.
   
Lagos State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Moyosore Onigbanjo (SAN), who led the prosecution team in the trial called the first prosecution witness.
  
The state government had earlier turned down a request by the Ayanwola family's counsel, Adesina Ogunlana, for a fiat to prosecute the case on its behalf.
 
In her testimony, the prosecution witness who claimed to have fallen victim to then suspect narrated how the suspect tore her cloth and sexually assaulted her inside the same bus.

The witness, a 29, told the court that she is a sales representative and a mother of one. She told the court that the defendant on that fateful day ordered her to remove her clothes and told her to cooperate.
  
She said: “ He slapped me, held my neck so that I couldn't breathe again. He tried to strangle me and then tore my cloth and rape me.”
   
Earlier in the proceeding, the defendant's counsel, Mr. Abayomi Omotubora, had objected some of the questions, which the prosecution were asking the witness. One of such was in respect of a male passenger, who attempted, but was denied by the defendant because of his alleged motif to carry out the assault on the witness. The defence also asked the witness if she report the incident to the police.

In addition, he objected to the admissibility of the exhibit sought to be tendered, stressing that it was not stated in the proof of evidence.
    
He cited Section 221 (1) (3) 2011 and 36 (6), 1999, of the evidence act to buttress his argument and urged the court not to admit the exhibit in evidence.
  
In his response, the AG urged the court to dismiss the objection of the defence counsel.In a short ruling, Justice Sonaike, overruled the objections of the defence counsel and admitted the exhibit in evidence. The judge also held that the questions were in order.
    
The prosecution had amended the charge and also an amended its additional proof of evidence dated May 6, 2022, pursuant to Section 155 and 251 (3) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law of Lagos State.