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.
AGF Abdulrazaq Shehu Raheem Adaramaja Photo News Student Learning Support Helpline Baakini Rice Farmers Association Of Nigeria Abdulganiyu Oladosu Sarah Alade Rebecca Bake Nurudeen Muhammed Mujtabah Bature Jimba Babatunde ASMAU PLAZA Abdulfatai Baakini Paul Odama Akeem Olatunji KWTV KWSIEC Abdulkarim Adisa Oyeyemi Olasumbo Florence Elerinjare-Ibobo Hamid Bobboyi Sa\'ad Alanamu School Of Nursing Bashir Omolaja Bolarinwa Yusuf Abubakar NTA Ilorin NAWOJ Hamza Usman Titus Suberu-Ajibola Adebayo Mohammed Kamaldeen Ajase-Ipo Afusat Nike Ibrahim Suraj Tunji Oyewale Soffiyyallah Kamaldeen Vasolar Consultoria Abdulwaheed Musa Suleiman Yahya Alapansapa Oke-Oyi SARS Government High School Adeta Mutawali Of Ilorin Bio Ibrahim Waheed Ibrahim Kemi Adeosun Ayeyemi Sulaiman International Public Sector Accounting Standards Budo-Egba Communication Network Support Services Sola Saraki University Ajikobi Veterinary Teaching Hospital Musibau Akanji Akande Idowu Ayoola Muhammed Afolasade Opeyemi Kemi Abdul Jimoh Mohammed Academic Staff Union Of Universities Erubu Oba Zubair Babatunde Ajeigbe Magaji Nda Sulyman Atolagbe Alege Turaki 2023 Elections Ahmed Alhasssan Harmony Holdings Henry Makinwa Olabode George Towoju Onikijipa Ayinde Oyepitan Tafida Kannike Gbemi Saraki Ayodele Kuburat Olaosebikan Yakubu Shaaba Fareedah Dankaka Muslim Media Watch Group Of Nigeria Senior Staff Union Of Colleges Of Education

