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.
Odo-Owa Lanre Issa Onilu Mashood Abdulrafiu Agboola Raimi Iyanda Kwara State Coalition Of Business And Professional Associations Adekunle David Dunmade Lanre Badmas Alfa Belgore Saka Onimago Hassan A. Saliu Idris Amosa Oladipo Saidu Segun Adeniyi Hassan Saliu Yahaya Oloriegbe Folorunsho Alao Umaru Saro Amos Justus Sayo Haleeman Salman SWAN Razaq Ayobami Akanbi Abubakar Suleiman Government High School Adeta Yoruba Neuropsychiatric Hospital Salihu Ajia Abdulrahman Abdulrasak S.O. Opowoye Communication Network Support Services Ahman Patigi Victor Gbenga Yusuf Road Transport Employers Association Of Nigeria 20 Billion Bond Eruku Abdulfatah Ahmed Alapansapa Kumbi Titilope Dunmade Ishola Abdullahi Clement Yomi Adeboye Igbomina Shagari Balikis Jawondo Zara Umar Jelili Yusuf KWASIEC Sarkin Malamai Gaa Olobi Women Radio AbdulGaniyu Kareem Tunji Folami Habeeb Saidu Kola Olota Ita-Ore Abdulrahman Abdulrasaq Ibrahim Taiwo Ilorin Curfew Noah Yusuf Laolu Saraki Yomi Ogunsola Suleiman Yahya Alapansapa New Naira Notes Mufutau Olatinwo Sadiq Umar Oyedun Juliana Funke Adeniyi Ojo Bisi Oyeleke Alaaya Tope Daramola Abiodun Jacob Ajiboye Gbugbu Jamiu Oyawoye Bamikole Omishore Sarah Jubril Mohammed Khadijat Kubura Jare Olatundun Seni Saraki Olayinka Olaogun

