The Lagos State Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) driver, Andrew Nice Ominikoron, who is standing trial for the rape and murder of one of his passengers, Bamise Ayanwola, has denied the offence, insisting instead that it was carried out by three others.
Omininikoron, aged 47, testified on Thursday while opening his defence before Justice Sherifat Sonaike of the Lagos State High Court sitting at the Tafawa Balewa Square on the Island.
Led in evidence by his counsel, Abayomi Omotubora, the defendant told the court that he did not rape or kill the 22-year-old fashion designer, Bamise Ayanwola.
He said instead that it was three male passengers who boarded his bus after official hours that raped her and threw her off the vehicle.
In March 2022, Andrew Nice was arraigned by the Lagos State Government on four counts charge bordering on alleged rape, conspiracy sexual assault and murder.
According to the charge, the murder occurred on February 26, 2022, at about 7pm near the Lekki-Ajah Conservation Expressway, Lagos
The prosecution said Ominikoron conspired with others now at large and forcefully had sexual intercourse with the Bamise after which he murdered her. The defendant pleaded not guilty to the offence.
Whilst giving his testimony on Thursday, he told the court that he illegally picked up Bamise at the Chevron bus stop on a return trip to Oshodi after he had off-loaded passengers on the Oshodi-Ajah route at around 8pm that day.
“I resumed at our Oshodi office that day on the afternoon shift. I loaded my bus with passengers going to Ajah. On getting to Ajah, I offloaded the passengers and took a return trip with another set of passengers to Oshodi, offloaded them and then loaded another round to Ajah. It was around 8pm by then and by this time, I am not permitted to load any more passenger to Oshodi.
“But we normally pick passengers after 8pm and tell them the cowry machine is not working, so that they can pay the bus fare in cash and we will keep the money for ourselves. Our salary is not enough, they promised us N120,000 monthly, but we are paid N71,000. Whenever we load passengers after official hours, we usually have them sit at the back and dim the bright lights in the bus so that the surveillance cameras on our routes cannot spot them.”
He added that shortly after Bamise boarded his bus, he picked up three more passengers at Agungi bus stop, all male. On getting to Osborne under bridge, Andrew Nice said one of the men walked up to him at the driver’s seat and pointed a gun at him, ordering him to cooperate with them. He said he had never seen them before and can only recognize the one that pointed a gun at him.
“The driver’s seat usually has a glass around the driver, like a room to one’s self, but the bus I drove that day had no door. I was heading towards Third Mainland Bridge but they ordered me to drive to Carter bridge. The three men dragged her down, she was shouting for help and they raped her. They pushed her off the bus and alighted afterwards while I continued on my trip. On getting to Oshodi, I parked the bus and went home.
“That day was a Saturday, I was off duty the next day. On Monday, I was going to work when my MD called me to report to see my depot manager (Mr Ola) at Oshodi. When I got there, I was told not to drive any bus but to wait. While waiting, a colleague asked me why I picked up a passenger illegally, as she has now gone missing. When I heard that, I was afraid and fled because I know my employers will not take it easy with me. My MD used to say that he will spend one million naira to deal with anyone who stole one hundred naira from him. Picking passengers illegally amounts to stealing from the company.”
The defendant told the court further that he fled to Ososa in Ogun State to stay with his friend (Hope), and that was where DSS officials arrested them.
When he was asked if he was aware the deceased was sending voice notes to her friend that night expressing her misgivings about the other passengers on the bus, he said he didn’t know.
During police interrogation at SCID Panti, Andrew Nice said he was tortured by the officers and that they refused to give him water when he told them he was thirsty. He added that he couldn’t write his statements because he was weak from the beatings he received.
The defendant also denied sexually assaulting two other women (names withheld) on his bus at different intervals before the alleged incident with Bamise and that he wasn’t questioned about the women, neither were they presented to him, while under police custody. He said he dated one of them, but broke up with her because she was always asking him for money.
Before adjourning at the request of his counsel for further examination-in-chief of the defendant till Monday, October 21, Justice Sonaike strongly expressed displeasure at the slow pace of the case.
The court said the frequent adjournments in the trial have been at the instance of the defence counsel and that the last hearing was on February 15, 2024.
The Director of Public Prosecutions at the Lagos State Ministry of Justice, Babajide Martins, in his response to Mr Omotubora’s request for adjournment, said he had received a query by the Attorney General of the state over the case, as the Prosecution had closed its case since November 2023.
