Death of Medical Student: NURTW Member Bags 25 Years Jail Term in Ibadan

…..Four others Discharged and Acquitted

By Sakin Babalola, Ibadan

Justice Munta Abimbola of the Oyo State High Court has sentenced a member of the National Union of Road Transport Workers in the state, Mr. Akinwumi Adisa to 25years imprisonment with hard labour as four others were discharged and acquitted from charges of conspiracy and murder.

The four accused person were standing trials for offences bordering on conspiracy and murder

While Olumide Oladeji, Sadeeq Adejide and Tajudeen Arowotosuna, the second, third and fourth accused respectively were set free after a long trial that started in 2012, Adisa was not so unlucky as the trial judge found him guilty of the offences

It would be recalled that on the night of the 4th June, 2011 at about 9:30pm, some factional members of the Union, in a struggle to take over the control of Iwo Road motor park from the another faction shot sporadically into the crowd.

In the ensuing melee, four persons were reportedly killed including one Anwal Bala Shannon, a 500 level medical student of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.

The deceased, who was the President of the Medical Student Association of Nigeria, was in company of his colleagues who were returning from a programme at Osogbo to take a bus to Zaria. They were in the Iwo-road Motor park to board the Zaria bus when Anwal was shot.

Apart from the people killed, shops, vehicles and valuable property were also burnt down by the hoodlum

The pandemonium and hostility continued till the following morning when the police arrived the scene to save the situation.

The first, second and third accused person were arrested at the scene of the crime while the fourth was later arrested by men of the State Criminal Investigation Department.  None of the accused made confessional statement

During proceedings, while the second and third accused persons denied being at the scene of the crime on the said date, the third accused also brought two witnesses, his wife and a former federal lawmaker to substantiate his claims

The federal lawmaker, Hon. Gbedemuke who corroborated Arowotosuna’s claim told the court that the accuse was enroute Abuja to honour an invitation to attend a burial ceremony at the time of the incident.

The 1st, 2nd and 3rd accused were represented by Barrister Oyesola, the 4th accused person was represented by Barrister Luman Taiwo

While the state prosecutor, Barr. Tajudeen Abdulganiyu called four witness to testify, the defendants counsel also called ‎six witnesses to testify

In his judgment, the Chief Judge of Oyo State, Justice Munta who discharged and acquitted the 2nd, 3rd and 4th accused persons on the ground that there was nothing linking them to the mayhem or the scene, he however sentenced the 1st accused to 25years jail terms

The 1st accused had told the court that he was at the scene of incident  but denied participating in the crime.