Bamise: Court To Conduct Trial-within-trial On BRT Driver’s Confessional Statement

Justice Sherifat Soniake of the Lagos State High Court sitting at the Tafawa Balewa Square has fixed October 31 to conduct a trial within trial to determine whether the extra judicial confessional statement made by a former driver of a Bus Rapid Transit, Andrew Nice Ominikoron.

Justice Sonaike fixed the date after Ominikoron, who is standing trial for the murder of a 22-year-old fashion designer, Bamise Ayanwola, in February this year, claimed through his counsel that the statement was made under duress.

The Lagos State government had arraigned the defendant before the court on a four-count charge of conspiracy, murder, and two counts of rape.

The prosecutor has insisted that the offences are contrary to and punishable under Sections 411,223,260 and 165 of the criminal law of Lagos State 2015.

The defendant, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge.

At the resumed hearing of the matter, the prosecution team led by the state’s director of public prosecution, Dr. Babajide Martins, called its seventh witness, Goddy Ihende.

But Martins’ efforts to tender the video recording of the alleged confessional statement through the witness were resisted by the defence counsel, Abayomi Omotubora, objected to the admissibility of the compact disc.

Omotubora argued that the statement of the defendant was not taken voluntarily and asked the court to conduct a trial within the trial.

Earlier the witness told the court that the defendant always rapes his victims in secluded places.

Ihende also testified that apart from the deceased the defendant had attempted to rape one Dr Victoria Anneke.