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.
Amos Bajeh Shettima Egbewole Fatimah Abdulkadir Grillo Fatai Adeniyi Garba Admiralty Villa Adegoke Bamidele Suraj Tunji Oyewale Dumagi Sabitiyu Grillo School Of Nursing Salihu Ajia Logun Shuaibu Yaman Amasa Cassava Growers\' Association Orire Salau Kabiru Abdullahi Alfa Modibbo Belgore Shettima Of Ilorin State Bureau Of Internal Revenue Computer Based Test Kwarareports Moses Afolayan Ayinke Saka Wahab Egbewole Oko Erin Bayo Ajia Deji Ajani Lanre Badmas Amos Justus Sayo Bluenile Associates Muhammed Aliyu UNILORIN Alumni Association Ilorin Talaka Parapo Bola Olukoju Sunday Otokiti Maja Olatunji Abdulmumeen Falokun-Oja KW-GIS Muslimah Entrepreneurship Forum John Kehinde Salako Abdulsalam A. Yusuf Firdaos Amasa Association Of Kwara State Online Media Practitioners Kwara South Sa\'adu Salau Undergraduate Bursary Eghe Igbinehi Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq Abdulwasiu Bolaji Adeyi Umar Danladi Shero Jaigbade Alao Muazam Nayaya Abdulrazaq Sanni Nigeria Customs Service Bashir Adigun Tunji Ajanaku Oyawoye Offa Grammer School Student Learning Support Helpline Alore Fatai Olodo Ahmed Shuaib Buranga Kishira Bashiru Makama Sardauna Of Ilorin Special Agro-industrial Processing Zone Dasuki Belgore Valsolar Kwara State Television Mubarak Oladosu Quarry Royal Valley Cornelius Fawenu Otoge

