The Court of Appeal sitting in Ilorin, Kwara State, on Friday upheld the death sentences imposed on five men convicted for their roles in the 2018 Offa bank robbery, dismissing their appeals as lacking merit.
The Director of Public Prosecution in Kwara State, Mohammed Akande, confirmed the development to journalists after the proceedings. He said the appellate court unanimously affirmed the judgement of the Kwara State High Court, which had sentenced the convicts to death by hanging.
According to Akande, the panel of three justices Justice Ridwan Maiwada Abdullahi, Justice Gabriel Kolawole and Justice Abdul Dogo upheld the verdict delivered by Justice H A Saleeman of the High Court. The convicts are Niyi Ogundiran, Salawu Azeez, Ibikunle Ogunleye, Ayoade Akinnibosun and Adeola Adeola Abraham.
Akande said the Court of Appeal affirmed the judgement of the High Court sentencing the appellants to death by hanging for their involvement in the Offa bank robbery.
Another court official disclosed that all the grounds of appeal filed by the convicts were dismissed and that the court ordered their immediate return to prison custody. The official said the court rejected all the arguments canvassed by the appellants and upheld their convictions.
Although the convicts retain the constitutional right to approach the Supreme Court, the official noted that the arguments raised at the appellate court were weak and may not succeed if repeated at the apex court.
The five men were convicted of armed robbery, illegal possession of firearms and culpable homicide. A sixth suspect, Michael Adikwu, a retired police officer, died in custody before the trial commenced.
The convictions arose from the coordinated bank robbery carried out in April 2018 in Offa Local Government Area of Kwara State, during which five commercial banks were attacked. At least 32 people were killed, including nine police officers, two of them women, making the incident one of the deadliest bank robberies in Nigeria’s history.
