The Court of Appeal in Ilorin, Kwara State, has upheld the death sentences of five men convicted in connection with the 2018 Offa bank robbery, dismissing their appeals as lacking merit.
The convicts—Niyi Ogundiran, Salawu Azeez, Ibikunle Ogunleye, Ayoade Akinnibosun, and Adeola Abraham—were sentenced to death by hanging by the Kwara State High Court.
The three-judge panel at the Ilorin Appeal Court, comprising Justices Ridwan Maiwada Abdullahi, Gabriel Kolawole, and Abdul Dogo, unanimously affirmed the High Court’s ruling, while rejecting all grounds of appeal filed by the convicts.
They were ordered to be returned immediately to prison custody.
Director of Public Prosecution in Kwara State, Mohammed Akande, who observed the proceedings virtually, said that although the convicts retain the right to appeal to the Supreme Court, their arguments at the Court of Appeal were unconvincing and may not succeed at the apex court.
The convictions stemmed from the coordinated armed robbery that took place in April 2018 in Offa Local Government Area, during which five commercial banks were attacked.
The attack claimed at least 32 lives, including nine police officers—two of them female—making it one of Nigeria’s deadliest bank robberies.
Justice Haleemah Saleeman, who presided over the trial, had sentenced the five men to death by hanging after a six-year trial, also imposing three-year prison terms for illegal possession of firearms, in line with Nigerian penal law.
Lead prosecution counsel, Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), described the appellate court’s judgment as thorough and well-considered, while defense counsel Abdullah Jimba confirmed that preparations were underway to take the matter to the Supreme Court.
A sixth suspect, Michael Adikwu, a retired police officer, died in custody before the trial commenced.
This ruling underscores the judiciary’s firm stance against violent crimes, sending a strong signal about the consequences of armed robbery and culpable homicide in Nigeria.
