Andrew Ominikoron, the Bus Rapid Transit BRT, driver, accused of the rape and murder of 22-year-old female passenger, Oluwabamise Ayanwola, has denied committing the offence.
Ominikoron who is standing trial for the murder is, however, putting the crime on three strange passengers he picked up that night.
While testifying before Justice Sherifat Sonaike of the Lagos State High Court sitting at the Tafawa Balewa Square on Thursday, Ominikoron denied raping nor killing Oluwabamise.
According to him, three male passengers who boarded his bus after official hours were the ones who raped and threw the 22-year-old lady off the vehicle.
Ominikoron told Justice Sherifat Sonaike that on February 26, 2022, he was on an afternoon shift, which he resumed by 1 pm, and his route was from Oshodi to Ajah.
He said he made a round trip and went on the second trip back to Ajah, when it was already around 7 to 8 pm. He said he couldn’t continue working but decided to illegally pick passengers while going back to Oshodi.
The defendant is standing trial bordering on rape, conspiracy, felony, sexual assault, and murder brought against him by the Lagos State Government.
According to the charges, the incident occurred on February 26, 2022, around 7 pm, near the Conservation Centre, Lekki-Ajah Expressway, Lagos.
The prosecution alleged that Ominikoron forcibly had sexual intercourse with Oluwabamise Ayanwole before murdering her. The alleged offences contravened Sections 411, 223, 260, and 165 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.
On the last adjourned date on June 24, the trial was stalled due to the defendant’s leg injury sustained in prison.
The court was told that Ominikoron fell in the bathroom on Sunday, June 23, 2024, injuring his left leg, which caused his absence in court.
During hearing on Thursday, the Director of Public Prosecutions, Dr. Babajide Martins, told the court that the case had been stalled since November last year and then told the court that the business of the day was for the defence to open its case.
The judge therefore ordered the defence to open its case. Ominikoron, who was led in his defence witness by his counsel, Abayomi Omotubora, told the court that he picked the late Bamishe at Chevron, and three male passengers afterwards.
According to him, one of the male passengers was coming forward, and he thought it was to pay him, then the passenger threw something at his head and showed him a gun, asking him to cooperate.
The defendant explained that when they pick up passengers illegally, they usually tell them to sit at the back so that officials of the BRT services on monitoring would not see them in the bus and sanction the drivers.
He said he followed the instructions of the man who asked him to divert his route and told him to put his vehicle on neutral.
The defendant further explained that the light inside the bus was on but it was the dim light since he was avoiding being caught for picking passengers.
Omotubora then called for the audio recording of Bamishe, which was played in the open court.
He then asked Ominikoron if he was aware that the late Bamishe was recording or sending voice notes, and he said he wasn’t, that the first time he heard it was when it was played to him at the Panti Police Station after he had made his statement, but he didn’t understand it because of the language barrier.
The defendant told the court that he didn’t know the three men he picked up at Agungi as he had never seen them before and would not be able to identify them.
