…Demands Return Of Sister’s Phone, Other Items
By Damilola Odunukan
On the 2nd of May 2025, Justice Sheirfat Sonaike of the High Court of Lagos State, Tafewa Balewa Square, sentenced Mr Andrew Nice Ominikoron to death by hanging for the murder of the late Bamise Ayanwola.
Jubilant human rights activists applauded the judgment, especially women’s advocacy groups.
It will be recalled that Bamise Oluwabamise Toyosi Ayanwola was a young Nigerian woman who was abducted after boarding a BRT in Lagos, Nigeria and found dead 9 days later.
The 22-year-old lady, who is a fashion designer, was abducted on February 26, 2022, after boarding a bus rapid transit system at Chevron, Lekki, heading to Oshodi on the Lagos mainland around 7:30 pm.
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The driver of the BRT, Mr Andrew Nice Ominikoron. The court found him complicit in the murder of Bamise.
However, her family, while appreciative of the judgement, wanted more to be done, stressing that others connived with Ominikoron to commit the heinous crime that deprived them of their daughter and sister.
In a recent interview with Securitynewsalert.com, the deceased’s sister, Damilola Ayanwola, expressed her gratitude to the Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, and other well-meaning Nigerians for standing with them during the trials.
She, however, stressed: “The judgment is passed to only Andrew Nice Ominikoron, and we, the family, appreciate it; but that is a one-sided judgment. We only have judgment passed, but justice itself has not been done!”
Ayanwola said that the family was not entirely satisfied with the justice because they believed that Ominikoron was not working alone and did not commit the crime alone.
“There were other accomplices on that bus on that fateful night of the incident,” said Damilola.
She mentioned that the family wanted to know what happened to Bamise’s phone and other possessions, which were with her on the day of the incident.
She opined that if those items could be provided, it would bring them further relief.
She said, “They can’t tell us that her phone is nowhere to be found; they should have provided the phone, because it matters to us,” said a visibly emotional Damilola.
Speaking on the significance of the phone in the case and to the family members, Damiloa said that the Police or the BRT administration should provide the phone, as they believe it was part of the justice they were seeking.
She emphasised that “Bamise’s phone matters to us,” because that was the phone she used to pass the message to her friend while she was in Ominikoron’s bus, before her eventual murder.
According to the friend, whose identity is still unknown, Bamise placed a distress call to her, and during their conversation, the friend told Bamise’s family that she had heard strange voices while speaking with her late friend.
Damilola repeated: “The phone belongs to Bamise! It doesn’t belong to anyone, not even the government.”
Damilola added that it was not the family’s duty to collect the phone forensics from the internet provider, as it was the Police’s duty and obligation to enhance the investigation.
She stated that the family has been asking for Bamise’s phone, and that all relevant authorities have ignored their demand.
