Justice Haleemah Salman of the Kwara State High Court has sentenced five individuals to death for their involvement in the 2018 Offa robbery. The suspects were found guilty of illegal possession of firearms, armed robbery, and culpable homicide, offences that carry the death penalty under Nigerian law.

Delivering the judgement, which lasted three and a half hours, Justice Salman confirmed that the evidence presented by the prosecution conclusively proved the defendants’ guilt. The convicts—Ayoade Akinnibosun, Ibikunle Ogunleye, Adeola Abraham, Salahudeen Azeez, and Niyi Ogundiran—were also sentenced to three years’ imprisonment for illegal possession of firearms. A sixth suspect, Michael Adikwu, had died in custody before the verdict.

Speaking to journalists, the prosecution counsel attributed the lengthy trial to delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and national assignments given to the presiding judge. The defence team has announced plans to appeal the ruling.

The sentencing comes six years after the notorious April 2018 robbery in Offa, where assailants attacked five commercial banks, killing over 30 people, including police officers. The robbers also made off with a significant sum of money, thrusting the incident into national headlines for months.

Following the robbery, then-governor of Kwara State, Abdulfatah Ahmed, offered a ₦5 million bounty for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of the suspects.

In a statement, the Kwara State Government said: “The governor is offering a ₦5 million reward to anyone who can provide information that leads to the apprehension and prosecution of those responsible for this heinous act.”