Enchantment Court docket upholds loss of life sentences of 5 convicted in 2018 Offa {bank} theft

The Court docket of Enchantment, Ilorin Judicial Division, on Friday upheld the loss of life sentences of 5 people convicted over the 2018 Offa {bank} theft, dismissing all grounds of enchantment filed by the convicts as missing advantage.

“The courtroom has dismissed all their grounds and upheld that their conviction ought to stand. They’ve been taken again to the jail,” a courtroom official who witnessed the proceedings mentioned.

The official added, “Though they nonetheless have yet another proper to enchantment to the Supreme Court docket, the truth is that the grounds of their appeals earlier than the Court docket of Enchantment weren’t convincing. In the event that they depend on the identical grounds, the Supreme Court docket might dismiss them too.”

The convicts, Ayoade Akinnibosun, Azeez Salahudeen, Niyi Ogundiran, Ibikunle Ogunleye, and Adeola Abraham, had been discovered responsible of unlawful possession of firearms, armed theft, and culpable murder. The sixth suspect, Michael Adikwu, a retired police officer, died in custody earlier than the trial started.

The offences had been linked to a violent theft that focused 5 banks in Offa Native Authorities Space, Kwara State, leaving no less than 32 folks useless, together with 9 cops, two of whom had been ladies.

Justice Haleemah Salman of the Kwara State Excessive Court docket initially handed down the loss of life sentences after a six-year trial that drew nationwide consideration.

Delivering a judgment that lasted over 4 hours, Justice Salman said that the convicts “acted opposite to the regulation and allowed their connections with these in energy on the time to steer them astray.”

Along with the loss of life sentence by hanging, the courtroom imposed three-year jail phrases for unlawful possession of firearms, in accordance with Nigeria’s penal code.

Lead prosecution counsel, Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), recommended the judgment, describing it as “thorough” regardless of quite a few delays through the trial.

In the meantime, defence counsel Barrister Abdullah Jimba mentioned his principal was making ready obligatory paperwork for a last enchantment to the Supreme Court docket.

The ruling marks a crucial second in Nigeria’s ongoing battle in opposition to violent crime, particularly high-profile {bank} robberies.