Offa Community Split Over Kwara High Court Ruling on 2018 Bank Robbery
The recent judgment of the Kwara State High Court regarding the 2018 Offa banks robbery has left the community divided. After a six-year trial, Justice Haleema Salman last week sentenced the remaining five suspects involved in the robbery to death by hanging. The convicts—Ayoade Akinnibosun, Azeez Salahudeen, Niyi Ogundiran, Ibikunle Ogunleye, and Adeola Abraham—were found guilty of the brutal attack that claimed the lives of 32 people, including nine policemen.
The ruling, however, has sparked differing opinions within the Offa community. On Thursday, the home branch of the Offa Descendants' Union (ODU) urged the Kwara State Government to revisit the case, raising concerns about the judgment.
The Offa robbery, which occurred on April 5, 2018, shocked the nation due to the sheer scale of the violence and loss of life, and the recent court ruling has revived emotional reactions from different quarters of the community.
Addressing journalists in Offa, the chairman of the union, Chief Tajudeen Lanre Shittu, said though the community welcomed the judgement, it expressed reservations 'that many questions have not been answered'.
They called on the state government to expedite action on the execution of the judgement.
'There is the need for a holistic probing of all the factors, notions and personalities, so as to remove the public impression that the Nigeria Police investigation on the incident is incomplete and certain individuals are being covered up.
“The community is unsatisfied with how the police command handled the investigation and expressed reservations. Those who supplied the vehicle used for the robbery and all those mentioned during the course of trial should be investigated”.
But in a statement last night, some 'leaders of thought and indigenes under the aegis of Offa Koya, Offa Kowosi, dismissed the position of the home branch, adding that it was politically motivated
They accused the ODU home branch chairman of using the community's name for cheap politics.
When contacted last night, the national secretary of national branch of the ODU, Mrs Wosilat McCarthy, said Shittu cannot be speaking for the ODU.
Cloud Tag: What's trending
Click on a word/phrase to read more about it.
Samuel Olusegun Adedayo Borgu Air Peace Ayedun Ibraheem Abdullateef Elerin Of Adanla Irese Umar Saro Abdulrauf Aliyu Javed Khan Kolade Solagberu Sulyman Buhari Kwara State Television (KWTV) Gobirawa Abubakar Kawu Baraje Hamidat Sulyman-Yusuf Taofeeq Olateju Mohammed Katsina Ahmed Bisi Kristien Tricycle Owners Association Of Nigeria Paul Odama Yusuf Lanre Badmas Senior Ibrahim Suleiman Olufolake Abdulrazaq AIT Ilorin Kwara Apc Ambassador Kayode Laro Kwara Polytechnic T And K FOODS Adeleke Ogungbe Alfa Modibo Belgore Tunde Akanbi KWTV Ilorin International Airport Isiaka Danmeromu Bond Ibrahim Mashood Atiku Ayodele Shittu Vasolar-Kwara Company Ltd Saudat Abdulbaqi Asa LGEA School Dan Iya Mubarak Oladosu Lithium Deposit BIR HAMFAT Clinic And Maternity Yusuf Aiyedun Onilorin General Tunde Idiagbon International Airport Ilorin Olatunde Michaels Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa Aminat Ahmed 3MTT Awwal Jawondo Abdullahi Atanda Split Diamond Interchange Third Estate Ahmed \'Lateef Oko-Olowo Fatai Olodo Kola Ologbondiyan Micheal Imodu-Ganmo Road ER-KANG Mining Rebecca Bake Kwara United Age AbdulKareem Alikinla Simeon Sule Ajibola Ayobami Seriki LEAH Charity Foundation Muhammad Sirajo Aliyu Erubu Code Of Conduct Bureau Ilorin Metro Park Olabode Towoju Suwa-Arabs Adedipe

