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The Offa Descendants’ Union on Thursday called on the Kwara State Government to expedite action on the execution of the recent judgment delivered by the Kwara State High Court on the Offa-bank robbery.
The union also asked the state police command to thoroughly investigate and prosecute all the people mentioned by the convicted persons during the cause of their trial to ascertain their levels of involvement in the robbery incidents to correct the impression of the community that certain highly placed individuals are being covered up.
Addressing a press conference in Offa on last week’s death sentence passed on the five culprits of the robbery by the court, the ODU chairman, home branch, Chief Tajudeen Shittu, said though the community welcomed the judgment, it however expressed reservations that many questions have remained unanswered in the prosecution of the convicts.
Recall that a Kwara State High Court sitting in Ilorin, presided over by Justice Haleema Salman last Thursday, convicted and sentenced five suspects to death by hanging for their involvement in the Offa robbery incident of April 5, 2018.
Those convicted for the robbery included Ayoade Akinnibosun, Azeez Salahudeen, Niyi Ogundiran, Ibikunle Ogunleye, and Adeola Abraham.
In a petition addressed to the Kwara State Commissioner of Police, Mr Victor Olaiya, which was the text of the press conference jointly signed by chief Tajudeen Lahre Shittu (Chairman), Apostle Gabriel Kolawole (Public Relations Officer) and Hakeem Mudashiru (General Secretary), the ODU affirmed that though it welcomed the death sentence passed on the five culprits, the community, however, remains “unassuaded and unsatisfied with the way the police ended” its investigation on the matter.
Text of the address read in part, “As much as we appreciate the conviction of the suspects, Offa as a community has reservations for the way the investigation was handled by the police, as though it pleases us that the culprits would not go unpunished; we are aware that they have their rights to appeal to the Supreme Court of Nigeria, but we will never relent to pursue any attempt made by evildoers and ensure that full justice is achieved for the heartless souls, including those who have a link with them during the investigation.
“This is a major concern to our community and a very important course we have resolved to pursue to a logical conclusion.
“More so, the Offa community would like the investigation to be extended further in the following regards to identify and unravel:
“The people who supplied the vehicle used for the robbery. The people mentioned during the course of the investigation.
“From the above two germane points, we, hereby, state categorically that the Offa community remains not only grateful but unassuaded and unsatisfied with the way the police ended. As a community, we consider the investigation leading to the judgment as inconclusive and an attempt to cover and protect the names of those who were identified by the robbers during the investigation.
“We therefore call for further and thorough investigation and arrest of those who provided logistics to the robbers. All the names mentioned by the convicted persons should be investigated thoroughly for proper justice to be served.
“We, therefore, call on the Kwara State Government to revisit the incident through the holistic probing of all the factors, notions, and personalities to remove the public impression and conclusion that the said Nigeria Police investigation of the April 2018 Offa Bank robbery is incomplete. This is the Offa community’s unnegotiable demand and prayers.”
Meanwhile, the Kwara State Government on Thursday commended the judgment that convicted the five suspects involved in the Offa bank robbery to death, describing it as a “triumph of good over evil.”
