The Bus Rapid Transit driver, Andrew Nice Ominnikoron accused of raping and killing his passenger, 22-year-old Oluwabamise Ayanwola, did not report the incident to the bus station after the incident when he claimed he and his passenger was attacked by armed robbers.
This is the evidence of a fleet operational manager, Kayode Aluko, with the Lagos Bus Services Limited, LBSL.
He is the second prosecution witness.
According to the witness, the defendant did not use phone numbers given to drivers to call and report any incident.
The witness gave the evidence during the ongoing rape and murder trial of Oluwabamise Ayanwola before Justice Sherifat Sonaike, of Lagos High Court sitting at Tafawa Balewa TBS.
He said the defendant ran away after they got the information of what had happened.
Led in examination-in-chief by the Director of Public Prosecution DPP, Dr. Babajide Martins, there are phone number available to the drivers, which are phone numbers of the marketers, maintenance, depot officers, station officers and as well as given to the drivers to call and report any incident.
He noted that the defendant never reported any incident until February 28, after the deceased family reported the case to them, instead, he ran away after they got the information of what had happened.
The witness said that he had given an instruction to his officers who received the information of the incident that when the defendant comes he should see him for some interrogation on a missing person in his bus.
Aluko said in his evidence that the defendant was employed in September, 2021.
He explained to the court that when the defendant came, the officer from the outsourcing company he met told him, to see him, but that Ominnikoron, told them that he was going to eat, but never returned.
He narrated how the defendant was employed by the LBSL, from an outsourcing company called Excel.
The witness told the trial judge that the three rape incidents and the murder of Oluwabamise Ayanwola, was never reported by the defendant, until February 28, 2022 after the deceased family reported the case to them.
He said “The incident of November 25, 2021, the December 29, 2021 and February 28, 2022, were never reported by the defendant and the model of bus he drove on the three occasions is Ashok Layland.”
He added that they have monitoring unit that monitors the movement of the driver’s route.
The prosecution witness said that on February, 28, 2022 at about 3:00p.m, the elder brother of the missing lady (Bamise) was at their gate and he was having some challenges with their security guy at the gate that they should go and incident the case at a nearby police station.
Aluko said, “When I heard the argument I asked the security to let him in and when I listened to them, they showed me a voice note and a video from the elder brother’s phone.
Continuing, the witness said, “In the video that I saw, it displayed my bus with number 240257 and the other voice of two ladies and in their conversation there was an expression of fear from the lady inside the bus to the other friend.
“This was on a Monday, the incident occurred on Saturday. I said I will do whatever I can to help them. That night, I took my car with four other personnel from the outsourcing company and went to Ogolonto at Ikorodu where he (defendant) said he lives.
“On getting there, we didn’t see him, we called him several times, he didn’t respond but suddenly he called back the outsourcing representative that brought him that he was in an hospital, but we couldn’t locate him at his residence or hospital,” he told the court.
The witness said, “On November 25, 2021, Andrew Ominnikoron, was the driver that drove Bus number. 240271 and he was on p.m shift. P.m shifts starts at 1 O’Clock and ends at 10:00p.m. On December, 29, 2021, the same bus was also allotted to the defendant and he was also on p.m shift and he was number 19, that was allotted that day and his route is Ajah-Oshodi.
“On February, 26, 2022, Andrew Ominnikoron, was allotted a bus with number 240257, he was equally on p.m shift, from 1:00pm to 10:00p.m, he was number eight on the allotted bus. The procedure is the same for A.m and P.m. A.m starts at 5:00a.m.
“We have two captains (drivers) for each bus. Once a driver resumes in the morning, he will write down his name, and the allotted bus the following details will be documented before moving out, the fuel level, the odometer and then sign.
Earlier the defence counsel Abayomi Omotubora, cross-examined the 29-year-old lady, Nneka Maryjane Odezulu, the first prosecution witness who had testified on Monday that the defendant raped her from behind.
When asked how she was raped after she was pushed down by the defendant, the first prosecution witness said the defendant shifted her pant and raped her.
Asked if she used the N3000 that the defendant sent to her account, the witness said that after withdrawing the money, she gave it to beggars at Ajah, on her way to work the next day.
Justice Sonaike, adjourned the case till June 1, 2022 for continuation of trial.
Ominnikoron is facing a five-count charge bordering on rape, conspiracy, felony, sexual assault, and murder preferred against him by the Lagos State government.
The prosecution said that the defendant on November 25, 2021, allegedly raped a 29-year-old lady Nneka Maryjane Odezulu, without her consent.
It said that the incident took place at about 8:00p.m at Lekki-Ajah Conservation Centre Lekki-Ajah Expressway, Lagos.
The prosecution also told the court that Ominnikoron conspired with others now at large to commit rape and murdered his 22-year-old passenger, Oluwabamise Ayanwola, a fashion designer.
It said that the defendant had sexual intercourse with Oluwabamise Ayanwola, without her consent and murdered her, at about 7:00p.m, between Lekki-Ajah Expressway and Carter bridge, on February, 26, 2022.
The prosecution also said that the defendant and others at large on February 26, 2022, unlawfully killed one Oluwabamise Ayanwola by throwing her out of a moving bus between Lekki-Ajah Expressway and Cater bridge.
The defendant was also accused of sexually assaulting a-29-year old woman one Victoria Anieke, on December 29, 2021, between Ikorodu and Mile 12 area of Lagos State.
According to the prosecutor, the offences committed is contrary to and punishable under Sections 411, 223, 260 and 165 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.
