The confessional statements of the suspects in the ongoing trial of the alleged rape and murder of Miss Blessing Olajide, a 300L Agricultural Science student at the University of Ilorin, were not obtained under duress, according to a staff member of the Legal Aid Council of Nigeria, Kwara State.
The Legal Aid official, Barrister A. A Jimoh, contradicted the defense counsel’s claim that the statements were obtained under duress during the trial’s continuation at the Kwara State High Court over the weekend.
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She was in court as one of the prosecutor’s witnesses to determine the legality of the defendants’ confessional statements obtained while in the DSS’s custody.
However, while testifying, Barrister Jimoh stated that she agreed with the confessional statements and that they were obtained without coercion, contrary to the defense’s argument.
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“I interviewed the defendants to ensure that they made their confessions without being intimidated by DSS operatives, and they all stated that they made their confessions without being intimidated in any way,” Jimoh said.
The case was later adjourned by Justice Adebayo Yusuf to September 27, 2021 for further hearings.