The Bus Rapid Transit driver, Andrew Ominikoron, standing trial for allegedly raping and murdering 22-year-old fashion designer, Oluwabamise Ayanwole, on Thursday, opened his defence.
Ominikoron, who testified in his defence before the Lagos State High Court in Tafawa Balewa Square, told the court that he did not rape nor kill Oluwabamise.
He testified that he became a bus captain of the BRT in September 2021.
The defence witness narrated to 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, saying that 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, a term he and his colleague call Korokpe.
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, they say, contravened Sections 411, 223, 260, and 165 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.
The defendant pleaded not guilty to the charges against him.
On the last adjourned date on June 24, the trial was stalled due to the defendant’s leg injury sustained in prison.
An official from the Ikoyi Correctional Centre informed the court that Ominikoron fell in the bathroom on Sunday, June 23, 2024, injuring his left leg, which caused his absence in court.
At the resumed hearing of the case 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 Bamise at Chevron, and three male passengers at Agungi.
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.
He said,” The 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.”
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.
He said that in Panti, he was severely tortured and the police asked him to just agree with anything 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.”
Omotuba then asked for Exhibits 10a, b, 11, and 12. Exhibit 10 was one of his previous statements that was read.
In the statement, he said she sat behind him, and he was telling her that he liked her, but later asked her to go to the back to avoid the LSBS officers from arresting him, and she went to the second to the last seat.
He said this happened before he picked the three men.
Ominikoron said that at the Osborne area, one of the guys pointed a gun at him and diverted him.
He added that when they stopped, Bamishe was screaming for help while she was being dragged but he couldn’t help because a gun was pointed at him.
Ominikoron said later, the men came down from the bus, then he went to the back to look for her, but when he couldn’t find her, saying that he went back to his seat and drove off until he packed his bus at the toll-gate/7-Up terminal.
He said he went home and was home throughout the next day, being Sunday. Adding that on his way to work on Monday, still in shock, he was called to get to Oshodi.
He said on getting there, he heard that one of his passengers was missing. Ominikoron told the court that he later called one of his friends, Mr Hope, and told him he had a problem with his landlord and in his office so he needed to discuss it with him.
He said he went to Ogun State to meet his friend and told him he wanted to stay there 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 Bamise and dragged her out.
He said he was shocked, so he couldn’t tell anyone what happened while explaining what happened on Monday.
“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 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 got 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 he knew her but didn’t rape her.
He said though they were in a relationship, he had never been intimate with her.
He claimed that the last time they met, he sent her N3,000 for her sick child and started avoiding her because she was always demanding money from him anytime 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 Doctor (name withheld) and exchanged phone numbers on December 29, 2021, in Ikorodu; he denied knowing her nor going to Ikorodu on that day.
However, the case was adjourned till October 21, 2024, for the continuation of the defendant’s examination in chief.