Appeal Court Upholds Death Sentence For Five Offa Bank Robbers Over 2018 Massacre

The Court of Appeal sitting in Ilorin, Kwara State, has upheld the death sentences imposed on five armed robbers convicted for the deadly 2018 bank robberies in Offa.

In its judgment delivered on Friday, the appellate court dismissed all the grounds of appeal filed by the convicts against the 2024 judgment of the Kwara State High Court, describing the appeals as lacking merit. The court consequently affirmed the decision of the lower court and ordered that the convicts be returned to prison to continue serving their sentences.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the three-member panel unanimously agreed that the prosecution proved its case beyond reasonable doubt and that the trial court properly evaluated the evidence before it.

The convicts are Ayoade Akinnibosun, Ibikunle Ogunleye, Adeola Abraham, Salahudeen Azeez, and Niyi Ogundiran.
Background

On April 5, 2018, several commercial banks in Offa, Kwara State, were simultaneously attacked by armed robbers, while a police station was also overrun. The coordinated attacks claimed the lives of at least 33 people, including 12 police officers and a pregnant woman, making it one of the deadliest bank robbery incidents in Nigeria’s history.

In September 2024, the Kwara State High Court found the five men guilty of illegal possession of firearms, armed robbery, and culpable homicide.
Justice Haleema Salman, who presided over the trial, sentenced all five convicts to death.

During the trial, Akinnibosun, identified as the ringleader, gave a detailed account of how the robbery was planned and executed. He told the court that the late Michael Adikwu, a dismissed police officer, introduced the robbery idea to him. Akinnibosun said he subsequently recruited the other four accomplices and provided the two vehicles used during the operation.

He further confessed to killing two people who attempted to flee during the attack, stating that the shootings occurred at the entrance of a police station.

With the Appeal Court’s ruling, the death sentences remain in force, subject only to any further appeal to the Supreme Court.