The Lagos State High Court in Tafawa Balewa Square has scheduled March 3, 2025, for the adoption of final written addresses in the trial of Andrew Ominikoron, a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) driver accused of raping and murdering 22-year-old fashion designer Oluwabamise Ayanwola. Justice Sherifat Sonaike set the date following the continued absence of the defense counsel, Abayomi Omotubora.
This marks the third adjournment at the request of the defense. On November 29, 2024, proceedings were postponed due to Omotubora’s ill health. Subsequent adjournments occurred on January 30 and February 10, 2025, due to his absence.
Ominikoron faces charges of rape, conspiracy, sexual assault, and murder, as filed by the Lagos State Government. He is accused of conspiring with others, currently at large, to rape and murder Ayanwola on February 26, 2022. Additionally, he is charged with raping a 29-year-old woman, Maryjane Odezulu, on November 25, 2021, near the Lekki Conservation Centre.
The prosecution alleges that Ominikoron had non-consensual sexual intercourse with Ayanwola and subsequently murdered her between the Lekki-Ajah Expressway and Carter Bridge. He is also accused of unlawfully ejecting her from a moving bus on the same day. The offenses contravene Sections 411, 223, 260, and 165 of the Lagos State Criminal Law of 2015.
Ominikoron has pleaded not guilty to all charges, asserting that he neither raped nor killed Ayanwola. He claims that three unidentified male passengers who boarded his bus after working hours assaulted her and pushed her off the vehicle. His defense commenced on October 17, 2024.
