A witness for one of the five accused persons in the April 5, 2018 armed robbery attack in Offa, Kwara State, one Omolara, was on Friday arrested within the court premises by the men of the Nigeria Police.
Omolara, who resides in the Odoota area of the Ilorin metropolis and is a graduate of the Osun State Polytechnic, Iree, is the younger sister of the fifth defendant, Niyi Ogundiran.
She was taken away around 3:40 p.m. by operatives of the state police command immediately after the trial that started at 9:00 am.
A policeman, Michael Adikwu (deceased), Ayoade Akinnibosun, Azeez Salahudeen, Niyi Ogundiran, Ibikunle Ogunleye and Adeola Abraham were arrested in connection with the armed robbery incident.
At the resumed hearing of the case on Friday, Omolara Ogundiran, who was called in to witness in the case by the defence counsel, Mr Mathias Emeribe, tendered a receipt which she said was issued by a spare parts seller in Osogbo to his brother.
It will be recalled that Niyi Ogundiran had told the court that he was never in Offa on the day of the robbery, having travelled to Osogbo to purchase spare parts for the second defendant’s vehicle.
After arguments by the defence and prosecution counsel on the admissibility of a 10-paragraph affidavit brought by the defence counsel on the receipt, the presiding judge, Justice Halimat Salman, rejected the receipt as evidence, describing it as a sham.
She said the defendant could not seek to tender any evidence through the backdoor while they had all the opportunity to do so at various stages of the trial since it started about six years ago.
“For you to now remember after about six years to present the receipt speaks volumes. It seems like one looking back while facing front. Court doesn’t operate by application but by law. The receipt is not enough. It’s a sham. I won’t say more than that. The signature in the affidavit is also different from the one on the receipt. It lacked merit,” the judge ruled.
She adjourned the case till Tuesday, April 9, 2024, for adoption of written addresses by the counsel.
Earlier, while giving evidence, Omolara (PW11), told the court that she “went to Osogbo to collect a receipt for some motor spare parts of the vehicle bought by Niyi on the day of the robbery.”
She said, “When I got to Mallam Ali’s shop (motor spare parts seller), I met him attending to a customer and he said I should sit down and prayed for one not to be unfortunate in any situation.
“So, he opened the receipt and saw the duplicate before he issued another one to me and I left.
“I saw Mallam Ali inside the court premises today and he greeted me. But I can’t see him inside the court now.”
However, during cross-examination, Omolara told the court that “I am a Christian and attended primary school in Ise-Ekiti. I also went to secondary school in Oro, but don’t remember the name before I proceeded to Iree Poly for my OND.”
She continued, “I can’t remember the day and month, but it was last year, 2023, that I went to Osogbo for the receipt. Mallam Ali wrote the receipt in my presence before he gave it to me and wrote the date that my brother came to buy the items (backdated it to April 5, 2018).
“I didn’t go to Osogbo with Niyi Ogundiran, the fifth defendant. I didn’t sign the customer’s section in the receipt but Mallam Ali did and I cannot remember who signed it.
“When I came back to Ilorin, the receipt was with me and I only gave it to my lawyer when they were talking about it. I was in court when my brother was giving evidence on the case. Niyi and I are siblings but it’s God that will fight for him, not me.”
The defence counsel, Mathias Emeribe, told journalists that he would have to make findings about the development.
“Why they are arresting her, I don’t know. She is one of our witnesses who had come to tender documents and I have been told that they wanted her at the state CID in respect of the matter. It is when I get there that I will know what the situation is.
“They intended taking her away earlier but I resisted it because she is a witness and I wouldn’t want a situation where after she had gone, the testimony she would give would be different from what she is supposed to give.
“So, I sought the protection of the court which was graciously granted by the trial judge that she could only be taken away after the court had ruled in respect of the matter,” Emeribe noted.
However, speaking on the arrest, the prosecution counsel, Rotimi Jacob (SAN), said: “There are bold consequences for trying to deceive the court.
“You heard from the proceedings today where the witness went to Osogbo to collect a fresh receipt that borders on the issue that his brother was there to buy spare parts on the day of the robbery. She was issued a receipt dated April 5, 2018, which she brought to the court.
“But you heard her telling the court that the receipt was issued last year backdated to the date of the crime.”
He added, “Both parties have closed their cases and will now proceed to address the court for the court and adoption of our written addresses for the court to adjourn for judgment.”
