Dramatic Courtroom Confession BRT Driver Denies Rape And Murder In Bamise Case

Dramatic Courtroom Confession BRT Driver Denies Rape And Murder In Bamise Case

The Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) driver, Andrew Ominikoron, who is facing charges of raping and murdering 22-year-old fashion designer Oluwabamise Ayanwole, presented his defense during his trial on Thursday. The Lagos State Government has brought multiple charges against him, including rape, conspiracy, felony, sexual assault, and murder.….CONTINUE READING 

Ominikoron testified before Justice Sherifat Sonaike at the Lagos State High Court in Tafawa Balewa Square, asserting that he did not commit rape or murder against Oluwabamise.

He recounted that on February 26, 2022, he started his afternoon shift at 1 PM, driving the route from Oshodi to Ajah. After completing a round trip, he returned to Ajah around 7 to 8 PM. Unable to continue his shift legally, he decided to pick up passengers unlawfully, a practice he and his colleagues referred to as “Korokpe.”

The prosecution claims that the alleged incident took place on February 26, 2022, around 7 PM near the Conservation Centre along the Lekki-Ajah Expressway in Lagos, where Ominikoron reportedly forcibly raped Oluwabamise before killing her.

During a previous hearing on June 24, the trial was postponed due to Ominikoron’s leg injury sustained in prison when he fell in the bathroom on June 23, 2024.

On Thursday, the Director of Public Prosecutions, Dr. Babajide Martins, informed the court that the case had been delayed since November of the previous year and stated that it was now time for the defense to present its case. The judge instructed the defense to proceed.

Ominikoron, guided by his attorney Abayomi Omotubora, testified that he picked up Oluwabamise at Chevron along with three male passengers at Agungi. He described how one of the male passengers approached him under the pretense of making a payment but instead threw something at him and displayed a gun, instructing him to comply.

The defendant explained that when they picked up passengers illegally, they would typically ask them to sit in the back to avoid detection by BRT monitoring officials.

He recounted that the interior lights of the bus were on but dimmed to evade attention. Ominikoron noted that he had no prior acquaintance with the three men he picked up at Agungi.

When Omotubora requested the audio recording related to Oluwabamise, it was played in court. Ominikoron stated that he was unaware that Oluwabamise was recording or sending voice notes, as he only heard them when played to him at the Panti Police Station.

He claimed he was tortured while in custody and pressured to agree with whatever the police suggested during his interrogations. “I was taken out and questioned every 15 to 20 minutes, and my statements were written down by someone else due to the torture,” he stated.

In a previously recorded statement, Ominikoron said that Oluwabamise sat behind him and he was trying to express his interest in her. He explained that he later instructed her to move to the back of the bus to avoid attracting the attention of the Lagos State Bus Services officers.

He described an incident in the Osborne area where one of the men pointed a gun at him, directing him to change his route. Ominikoron recounted that when they stopped, Oluwabamise screamed for help as she was being dragged away, but he could not intervene because a gun was aimed at him.

After the men exited the bus, he searched for her but was unable to locate her. Feeling distressed, he returned to his seat and drove off, eventually parking his bus at the toll-gate/7-Up terminal. He maintained that he was at home the following day and later received a call to return to Oshodi.

Upon arrival, he learned that one of his passengers was missing. He reached out to a friend, Mr. Hope, about personal issues and decided to stay with him for a while.

When questioned about any inappropriate actions on the bus, Ominikoron denied any wrongdoing, stating that the male passengers were responsible for Oluwabamise’s rape and abduction.

He expressed his shock over the incident and stated that he hadn’t reported it earlier.

The trial is set to resume on October 21, 2024, for the continuation of the defendant’s examination.