The continued hearing of the case of five accused persons arrested in connection with the Offa bank robbery was yesterday stalled at a Kwara State High Court, Ilorin, following the inability of the police to produce witnesses and exhibits before the court.
Justice Halima Salman had fixed yesterday, January 7, for definite hearing of the case.
Addressing the court, the Kwara State Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), Jimoh Mumini, said he made three telephone calls to the police headquarters in Abuja, before he was assured that the witnesses and the exhibits would be brought to Kwara State yesterday
He told the court that Deputy Commissioner of Police, Abba Kyari, who led the investigation, pleaded with him to urge the court to vacate the order of definite hearing earlier fixed for yesterday, since the witnesses could not make it on time.
Justice Halima Salman adjourned the definite hearing of the case to January18.
Speaking with newsmen, Mumini, said the best witnesses for the prosecution of the case would have been people from Offa, who witnessed what happened that day and not policemen who investigated the incident.
He said there was no witness from Offa from the diary he had with him.
The
Emeribe requested that he be served with the necessary witness statements so that he would not be ambushed.
Meanwhile, the father of a female police officer, Mrs. Yemisi Makinde, killed by bandits on April 5, 2018, during the Offa robbery, has been reported dead in Ilorin at the weekend.
Late Mrs. Makinde, nee Oyeyemi, was one of the nine police officers gunned down by the armed robbers in the incident.
Oyeyemi, a retired Inspector in the Nigeria Police Force, who hailed from Agbonda town, Irepodun Local Government Area of the state, reportedly fell sick immediately after the untimely death of his daughter.
It was gathered that Oyeyemi, who had been in serious agony since the death of his daughter, died at his country home in Upper Gaa Akanbi area of Ilorin exactly nine months after his daughter was killed during the Offa robbery.
A relation of the deceased said that Oyeyemi developed high blood pressure due to the shock of his daughter’s death.
At least 33 residents of Offa town, including officers of the Nigeria Police Force, were killed during the attack.
The five suspected robbers are currently facing trial at the Ilorin High Court over the attack.
