The Prosecution in the murder trial of Oluwabamise (Bamise) Ayonwola has amended the charges against BRT driver, Andrew Nice from four to five to include one more person seeking to testify against him.
Mr. Nice is facing trial for the rape and murder of 22-year-old Bamise who was allegedly raped on a bus, murdered, and thrown off the vehicle.
At the commencement of the trial Monday, the Attorney General of Lagos State, Myosore Onigbanjo presented an amended charge and additional evidence to the court.
In the amended charge, Mr. Nice is accused of sexually assaulting another woman, 29-year-old Victoria Anoke.
This means two women, Victoria Anoke and Mary-Jane Odesuru who say they were sexually assaulted by the BRT driver last year, will be testifying against him in court.
When the charge was read in court, Mr. Nice pleaded not guilty to the five-count charge as amended.
Mary-Jane Odesuru who testified against Andrew Nice in court gave a graphic detail of how he allegedly raped her on 25 November 2021.
The witness, a sales representative, said the incident happened at 8 pm at Alesh Hotel Bus Stop after she closed from work.
She testified that when she entered the BRT, the defendant agreed to drop her at Jakande and demanded N100 as transport fare.
She told the court that when the bus got to Lekki Conservation on Ajah Expressway, the defendant stopped, brought out a drug, and drank it.
“I thought he was on medication,” she said.
The witness said the defendant then asked her to come to the front seat, which she did.
She said he started asking her questions and requested they park somewhere and have some discussions, which she declined.
“I then noticed that his manhood was up. I brought out my phone to call somebody but
he got up from the driver’s seat and collected my phone from me.
“He held a small knife and dragged me to the back and said I should pull off my clothes.
“We started dragging, he slapped me, held my neck, and wanted to strangle me.”
She testified that the defendant told her that if he should kill her there, nothing would happen and nobody would know where she was.
“He pushed me down, pointed the knife at me, tore my clothes, and raped me from the back,”
The witness said the defendant returned her phone and apologised when they got to her bus stop.
She said the defendant also transferred N3,000 to her account before he returned her phone and let her off the bus.
Mary-jane said she also captured the number plate of the bus as he zoomed off.
The witness however clarified that she did not report the rape case at any police station due to a bad experience she had had with the police at Jakande.
The prosecution tendered in evidence, the dress the witness wore on the day the alleged rape occurred.
After taking Mary-Jane Odesuru’s testimony, Justice Sherifat Shonaike adjourned the matter for cross-examination and further trial to Tuesday.
Bamise's Family Protests Outside Court
Outside the courtroom, the family of Oluwabamise Ayonwola staged a protest requesting the Lagos State government allow their lawyer to take on the prosecution of the case.
They said a non-state counsel should be allowed to prosecute the case since the crime was committed in a vehicle managed by a company affiliated with the state government.
Bamise’s family lawyer, Adeshina Ogunlana also told journalists that the prosecution of Andrew Nice by non-state counsel would ensure an adequate prosecution.
“From the proceedings in court today the prosecution has not put their house in order.
“We are not doubting their capacity but we are doubting if the existence of political will to ensure the adequacy of prosecution, that it will be muscular and vigorous.
“We are praying that this case is not being set up for destruction at the court of appeal,” he said.
Mr. Ogulana said the legal team of the family had applied to the Attorney General to grant fiat to enable non-state counsel to prosecute the case, but the application was verbally rejected.
He said the legal team is yet to receive a formal rejection letter from the Attorney General.
