Appeal Court Affirms Death Sentences for Five Convicted in 2018 Offa Bank Robbery

The Court of Appeal in Ilorin has upheld the death sentences handed to five men convicted over the 2018 bank robberies and attacks in Offa, Kwara State.

In a judgment delivered on Friday, the three-member panel dismissed all grounds of appeal filed by the convicts and affirmed the 2024 ruling of the Kwara State High Court. The court also ordered that the men be returned to prison.

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

They were sentenced to death in September 2024 after the High Court found them guilty of illegal possession of firearms, armed robbery, and culpable homicide.

The offences stem from coordinated attacks on several banks and a police station in Offa on April 5, 2018. The incident left 33 people dead, including a pregnant woman and 12 police officers.

During the trial, Akinnibosun, identified as the ringleader, told the court that the robbery plan was introduced to him by the late Michael Adikwu, a dismissed police officer. He said he later recruited the other four men to carry out the operation and provided the two vehicles used in the attacks.

Akinnibosun also admitted to killing two people at the entrance of a police station as they attempted to flee.

The appellate court’s decision brings to a close the convicts’ challenge to the High Court judgment.