Justice Ibrahim Yusuf of Ilorin High Court, yesterday, refused bail to eight persons alleged to have raped and murdered a 24-year-old University of Ilorin student, Olajide Blessing Omowumi.
Omowumi
The suspects were Abdulazeez Ismail, Ajala Moses Oluwatimileyin (aka Jacklord), Oyeyemi Timileyin Omogbolahan, Abdulkarim Shuaib (aka Easy), Kareem Oshioyemi Rasheed (Rashworld), Abdullateef Abdulrahman, Daud Bashir Adebayo (aka Bashman) and Akande Taiye Oladoja.
They were being prosecuted by the Kwara State Government in Suit No KWS/33c/c/2021, on 11 counts bordering on armed robbery, illegal possession of firearms and rape.
Their arraignment was deferred to yesterday because of the inability of three of the defendants to produce legal representation.
Three of the defendants, Abdulazeez Ismail, Ajala Moses Oluwatimileyin (aka Jacklord) and Oyeyemi Timileyin Omogbolahan were arraigned for conspiring among themselves “to rob one Olajide Gloria Blessing Omowumi also known as “Wumi” (now deceased) of her Samsung Galaxy A2 Core handset and carted away other items, including one black Acer Aspire, one series laptop, one Samsung drive, one pink wireless mouse, one white handheld mini sewing machine, one Infinix charger and one gold colour win touch tab, while armed with offensive weapons, including a black wooden pistol .”
Five others were charged with aiding and abetting the receipt of stolen items, which include Samsung Galaxy A2 Core handset and some other computer gadgets, being proceeds of armed robbery.
The prosecution also accused Abdulazeez Ismail, Kareem Oshioyemi Rasheed and Abdulkarim Shuaib of stealing a sum of N116,000 from the GTB account of the deceased.
When the charges were read to them, the accused persons, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Thereafter, the prosecuting counsel, Salman Jawondo, who is also the Kwara State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, filed an application to call additional three witnesses, which was granted by the court.
The seventh accused person, who is charged with aiding and abetting and receiving property; the product of armed robbery also filed an application for bail, which was heard and dismissed.
The court has also granted matter accelerated hearing starting from today.
In dismissing the bail application of the seventh accused person, the presiding judge said counsel to the defendants did not give satisfactory conditions to accede to his request.
“Generally, bail is at the discretion of the court, but in this circumstance, the counsel failed to give satisfactory reasons to grant his request. I am not inclined to grant the request as the case in question borders on capital offence,” the court ruled.
Recall that the Kwara State Police Command had confirmed rape and murder of a 300-level student of the University of Ilorin in her residence located at Tanke area of the Ilorin metropolis on June 2, 2021.
The deceased was from the Oke-Opin community in the Ekiti Local Government Area of Kwara State but was staying with her elder sister at Tanke area of the state.
