Justice Omolara S. Adeyemi of Court 10, Oyo State High Court, Ibadan, on Thursday ordered that a witness summons be issued and served on an official of a commercial bank in Ibadan, mandating the staff member to appear before the court to give evidence in an ongoing murder case.
The order was made when the case of State vs Bello Olalekan and four others came up for continued hearing.
The ongoing case is about the murder of a retired Permanent Secretary, Mrs Olaitan Gbenle, whose Automated Teller Machine (ATM) card was allegedly used by her assailants to withdraw money from her account after killing her.
During proceedings, the prosecution counsel, Deborah Oluyemisi Collins Esq., informed the court that the bank official expected to testify was absent.
Collins told the court that the bank had requested a subpoena compelling the official to appear and give evidence.
After granting the request, Justice Adeyemi adjourned the matter till May 21 for continuation of hearing.
One of the Tribune titles had earlier exclusively reported the murder of Mrs Olaitan Omolola Gbenle in her residence on November 16, 2023.
Following the incident, operatives of the Monitoring Unit of the Oyo State Police Command commenced investigations which led to the arrest of Bello, Bisiriyu, Ojei and Omisore.
The detailed confessional statements of the suspects were also published in the February 18, 2024 edition of the Saturday Tribune.
After the parade of the suspects, Saturday Tribune gathered that the fifth defendant, Olu Kolade, a correctional officer at Agodi Custodial Centre, Ibadan, was arrested following further confessions by other suspects.
At the conclusion of investigations, the five accused persons were arraigned before the court in suit number I/30c/24 on a seven-count charge bordering on conspiracy, murder and armed robbery.
Count one of the charge sheet alleged that Bello Olalekan, Bisiriyu Olalekan, Simeon Ojei, Faluyi Olukolade, Femi Omisore and others now at large conspired to commit murder at Agbede Agbofieti Community, Apata area of Ibadan, on November 10, 2023.
Count two alleged that the defendants murdered Mrs Gbenle, aged 67, by strangulating her to death.
Another count alleged that some of the defendants, while armed with a mortar, robbed the deceased of two vehicles, a generator, a plasma television set, a mobile phone and an ATM card, which was allegedly used to withdraw money from her bank account.
The prosecution also alleged in another count that one of the defendants received vehicles believed to be proceeds of armed robbery, while another defendant, identified as a correctional officer, allegedly abused his office by aiding and abetting former inmates to commit armed robbery and murder.