Andrew Ominikoron, a Bus Rapid Transit driver on trial for allegedly raping and murdering 22-year-old fashion designer Oluwabamise Ayanwole, began his defence on Thursday.
Ominikoron, who testified in his defence before the Lagos State High Court in Tafawa Balewa Square, stated that he did not rape or kill Oluwabamise.
He claimed that he became a bus captain for the BRT in September 2021.
The defence witness told Justice Sherifat Sonaike that on February 26, 2022, he was on an afternoon shift that he resumed at 1 p.m., and his route was from Oshodi to Aja.
He stated that he did a round trip and returned to Ajah at around 7 or 8 p.m.
He claimed he couldn’t continue working and chose to illegally pick up passengers on his way back to Oshodi, a phrase he and his colleague refer to as Korokpe.
The defendant is on trial for rape, conspiracy, crime, sexual assault, and murder charges made against him by the Lagos State Government.
According to the allegations, the event occurred on February 26, 2022, at approximately 7 p.m., near the Conservation Centre on the Lekki-Ajah Motorway in Lagos.
The prosecution claimed that Ominikoron forced sexual intercourse with Oluwabamise Ayanwole before murdering her.
They claim the alleged acts violated Sections 411, 223, 260, and 165 of Lagos State’s Criminal Law of 2015. The defendant pleaded not guilty to the allegations filed against him.
The trial was stopped on the latest adjourned date, June 24, due to the defendant’s leg injury acquired in prison.
An official from the Ikoyi Correctional Centre informed the court that on Sunday, June 23, 2024, Ominikoron fell in the toilet, injured his left leg, and is therefore missing court.
At the case’s resumed hearing on Thursday, the Director of Public Prosecutions, Dr. Babajide Martins, informed the court that the case had been blocked since November of last year and that the defence’s first order of business was to launch its case.
As a result, the judge ordered that the defence present its case.
Ominikoron, who was led as a defence witness by his counsel, Abayomi Omotubora, told the court that he picked up the late Bamishe at Chevron and three male passengers at Agungi.
According to him, one of the male passengers approached him, and he assumed it was to pay him; however, the passenger threw something at his head and showed him a revolver, ordering him to participate.
The defendant claimed that when they illegally pick up passengers, they normally tell them to sit in the back so that officials from BRT services who are monitoring the bus do not spot them and reprimand the drivers.
He said he followed the man’s orders to reroute his path and put his vehicle in neutral.
The defendant went on to say that the light inside the bus was on, but it was dim because he was trying to avoid being caught picking passengers.
He said, “TThe light that was on was enough for those in the bus to see, but wasn’t bright enough for those outside to see the bus.”
Omotuba then requested Exhibits 10a, b, 11, and 12. Exhibit 10 was one of his prior comments, which were read.
In the statement, he stated that she sat behind him and that he was telling her that he liked her, but he later urged her to leave to the rear to prevent being arrested by LSBS officers, and she took the second-to-last seat.
He claimed this occurred before he chose the three men.
He then asked Ominikoron if he was aware that the late Bamishe was recording or sending voice notes, to which he replied that he wasn’t; 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 due to the language barrier.
The defendant told the court that he did not know the three individuals he picked up in Agungi since he had never seen them before and would be unable to identify them.
He claimed that in Panti, he was severely tortured and that the police simply asked him to comply with everything they said.
Ominikoron said, “I was brought out and questioned every 15 to 20 minutes, and they continually took my statements.
“I could not write my statements due to the torture, so two to three people questioned me while the writer sat in front and wrote down my response.”
Ominikoron claimed that in the Osborne area, one of the men brandished a gun at him and diverted him.
He went on to say that when they stopped, Bamishe was begging for aid while being dragged, but he couldn’t help since a gun was pointed at him.
Ominikoron stated later that the men exited the bus, and he proceeded to the back to seek for her, but when he couldn’t find her, he returned to his seat and drove away till he packed his bus at the toll-gate/7-Up station.
He stated that he went home and remained there throughout the following day, which was Sunday.
He added that while on his way to work on Monday, still in shock, he was summoned to Oshodi.
He stated that upon arrival, he learnt that one of his passengers had gone missing.
Ominikoron told the court that he later called one of his friends, Mr. Hope, and told him that he had a problem with his landlord and needed to discuss it in his office.
He stated that he travelled to Ogun State to meet a friend and expressed a desire to stay for a while.
When asked if he slept with anyone on his bus, he said he didn’t do that and that the male passengers raped Bamishe and dragged her out.
“While still on my way to work, I was called to the head office in Oshodi to meet Mr. Ola. On getting there, I was told not to drive out but to wait.
“Then some of my colleagues were now saying that I did ‘Korokpe’; after saying I didn’t do that, they now said one of my passengers is missing.
“After hearing this, I now found a way to leave the depot because I was afraid that the rumour had gotten to the office, and I remembered that my MD had continually told us that he could not use N1M to chase someone, even if it was N100. So, I ran away because picking people illegally is equal to stealing,” he said.
When asked if he knew a certain MaryJane or raped her on November 25, 2021, he said that he knew her but did not rape her.
He stated that even though they were in a relationship, he had never been intimate with her.
He stated that the last time they met, he handed her N3,000 for her sick child and began avoiding her since she was constantly asking for money from him when they met.
“After giving her the money on that day, I avoided her and didn’t pick up her calls. So, I don’t understand nor know where she got her ideas from,” he said.
He was also asked if he attempted to rape a Doctor (name withheld) and swapped phone numbers on December 29, 2021, in Ikorodu; he denied knowing her or visiting Ikorodu on that day.
However, the case was adjourned until October 21, 2024, to allow for the continuation of the defendant’s examination in chief.
