Sexual Assault: Updates on Hinny Umoren and Bamise's unsolved murders

Iniobong Hinny Umoren, the lady who went missing during a job hunt in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, was reported missing via Twitter on Thursday, April 29, 2021

On social media, the hashtag, #FindHinyHumoren, generated several retweets after her friend, Happiness, tweeting through @UmohUduak1, had reported her disappearance. 

Umoren had reportedly told her friend, Happiness, that she was going for a job interview at Airport road, a distance from her house. 

The lady reported that “to cut everything short, she sent me a one second audio record on WhatsApp and I had to call her back to know if she wanted to say something but immediately I called her, I heard her screaming. Someone, please help her out.” 

It was gathered that the deceased had traced the advertiser to a location along the Airport road but was eventually lured to the nearby house in a community in Uruan Local Government Area, where she was killed. 

Iniobong was soon found dead, with the police announcing they had arrested two suspects with respect to the incident.

The police said the deceased was killed with a club while trying to resist being raped by the suspect. Macdon explained that the suspect had hurriedly buried the victim in a shallow grave in his father’s compound before fleeing to neighboring Calabar, Cross River State, adding that her remains were exhumed and deposited at the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital (UUTH). 

On April 30, 2021, the command received a report on the disappearance of the victim. 

Following available leads, men of the anti-kidnapping squad led by CSP Inenegiye Igosi, consolidated on the initial great progress made by the DPO Uruan and arrested the perpetrator who confessed to have lured the victim to his house in the guise of giving her a job but ended up sexually and physically molested her which led to her death. To cover his tracks, he dragged and buried her in a shallow grave in his father’s compound. The deceased has been exhumed and deposited at the UUTH for autopsy. 

The suspect confessed to have told his local government chairman of his atrocity before escaping to Calabar, the statement explained. 

In April 2022, the alleged rapist and killer of Iniubong Umoren, Uduak Akpan, denied ever meeting with her. “My Lord, I do not know Miss Iniubong Umoren. I only came to know that name when I was served with the proceedings of this trial at the Prison,” Akpan said during cross-examination by the prosecution.

Retracting his earlier statement, Uduak said, “I pleaded guilty because I had fever on that day and my IPO’s influence in the court.”

At the next hearing in April 2022, Frank Akpan, the father of the first accused, claimed that his son is schizophrenic and is an outpatient of the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital.

The case was adjourned…

Bamise was 22 years old and the last child of her parents, Joseph and Comfort Ayanwole. She had nine older siblings. She worked as a fashion designer.

On February 26, 2022, After leaving work at Ajah area of Lagos State, Bamise boarded a Bus rapid transit system at Chevron, Lekki heading to Oshodi on the Lagos mainland around 7:30 pm with the intention of going to visit her elder brother's family to spend the weekend. After boarding the bus, the driver flirted with her and told her to sit at the back. 

At the time, she was the only passenger in the bus and she observed that the interior was dark. She also noticed that at least two other male passengers entered the bus afterwards. The driver did not pick more passengers. There were no CCTV Cameras in the bus. She immediately sent voice notes to her friend via WhatsApp revealing her concerns. She also sent some video recordings of the bus interior with the bus plate number identifier to her friend who advised her to alight as soon as possible at the next bus stop.

Afterwards further attempts by her friends and relatives to contact her via phone calls were unsuccessful. Prior to this, one of her last recorded conversations with her friend was “.....Please, pray for me.” After several failed attempts to communicate via her phone, the last known sound heard after a caller picked her phone revealed her struggling with an unidentified man. The following day, she was reported missing. 

On March 7, 2022, her lifeless body was discovered naked near the Carter Bridge on Lagos Island.[9] An eye witness stated that Bamise was still alive after she was thrown out of the BRT bus but she couldn't be treated or rushed to the hospital before she died. There are conflicting reports as to whether her corpse was found whole or mutilated.

The driver of the BRT was identified as Andrew Nice Omininikoron. He kept mute after the incident. After Bamise's disappearance was made public, he fled and went into hiding in the neighboring Ogun State. He was tracked down and arrested by the Department of State Security Operatives and handed over to the police for questioning and custody. He initially confessed to raping Bamise and abandoning her but he later changed his story, denying any involvement in her murder.

He later claimed that his bus was hijacked by armed robbers (referring to the men who entered the bus) who also kidnapped Bamise at gunpoint. His claims have been challenged by Bamise's relatives, friends and some Nigerians who suspect foul play. Accusations of rape and sexual assault have been brought to light by at least two other female victims of the BRT driver, and in similar circumstances. He was arrested and is awaiting trial. His suspected accomplices are also yet to be identified.