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.
Aisha Abodunrin Ibrahim Yusuf Zulu-Gambari Susan Modupe Oluwole Zara Umar Suleiman Ajadi Ilorin South NaAllah Kwara Liberation Group TIIDELab Bashir Badawi Otuka Kunbi Titiloye Taofik Abdulkareem Babaita Kale Ayo Oluwarotimi Boluwatife Adenike Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq KWSIEC Abraysports FC Salman Jawondo Aliyu Salihu Abdulmajeed Wahab Buhari Turaki Of Ilorin Hassan Abdulazeez Elewu Yusuf AbdulRasheed Shero Damilola Yusuf Saad Omo Iya Kwara Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board Rachael Obisesan Amada Jidda AbdulRauf Keji Forgo Battery Company Limited Neuropsychiatric Hospital Ballah Muhammad Fawaz Abubakar Moses Salami Yusuf Lawal Idowu Laro Mumini Ishola Hanafi Special Agro-industrial Processing Zone Azeez Salawu Abraham Ojo IF-K Malete Michael Nzwekwe Shehu Alimi Foundation For Peace And Development Musibau Akanji Abdulrahman Abdulrasaq Gbugbu Yakubu Danladi Okin Malt Galland Marcias Mohammed Danjuma Aso Ofi Mahe Abdulkadir Yahaya Muhammad Lanwa Afolabi-Oshatimehin Adenike Harriet Mustapha Akanbi Yusuf Amuda Aluko Ileloke Federal College Of Education (Special), Afon Grillo General Hospital, Offa Ahmed Ayinla Jimoh Abdulrahman Abdulrazak Muyideen Ajani Bello Ilorin Airport Okanlawon Taiwo Ibrahim Kayode Adeyemi Ganiyu Abolarin Taofeek Sanusi Mohammed Haruna Olayinka Are Salake Tunde Idiagbon Road

