Why Ogunremi Bunmi Was Sentenced to Death

Ogunremi Bunmi (also known as Bunmi Bafon) is a Nigerian criminal who was sentenced to death by hanging in July 2026 by the High Court in Ekiti State. The Ekiti State Police Command first arrested him in November 2021 as a member of a notorious kidnapping syndicate that was terrorising Ekiti and Ondo states.

Ogunremi Bunmi, the son of the late prominent traditional chief (Chief Sesan Ogunremi) of Ado-Ekiti, was caught by the police Rapid Response Squad (RRS) when he was 49 years old. After his arrest, he gave high-profile confessions concerning several abductions, including:

• His Own Family: He admitted to plotting and arranging the kidnapping of his mother-in-law.
• High-Profile Targets: He led the gang that abducted Alhaji Sulaimon Akinbami, a well-known petroleum dealer, at his filling station in Ureje, Ado-Ekiti, in January 2021.
• Interstate Operations: The syndicate admitted to kidnapping Olowo Bolaji in Ipoti-Ekiti in 2020, along with an unnamed woman, and carrying out another operation in Akure, Ondo State.

On July 24, 2026, the High Court in Ekiti State, sitting at Ado-Ekiti, convicted Bunmi (who was 53 at the time) alongside three other defendants—Dele Jimoh (57), Ige Adu (56), and Blessing Ayeni (32)—on four counts involving conspiracy, kidnapping, murder, and the illegal possession of firearms.

This verdict stemmed from an incident on May 5, 2022, when the group plotted the kidnapping of a prominent resident, Chief Emmanuel Ajayi, from his home near the Immigration Office in Ado-Ekiti, after which they killed him. Consequently, the court sentenced all four individuals to death by hanging.

Inside the Syndicate: Legal Proceedings and Evidence

Additional investigative and legal information reveals the full workings of Ogunremi Bunmi’s criminal network, his history of prior offences, and the precise character of the trial that ultimately resulted in his death sentence.

During the trial before Justice Olalekan Olatawura at the Ekiti State High Court, details emerged regarding how the syndicate was systematically dismantled:

• The Breakthrough: Police Sergeant Oladele Ayodeji stated that the investigation took a dramatic turn after a robbery at Ekute in Ado-Ekiti, where a key member of the gang, Akeem Banjo Adebayo (alias “Oro”), was arrested at the scene. During his initial interrogation, Adebayo exposed the wider kidnapping ring and immediately identified Dele Jimoh and Ogunremi Bunmi as major participants before later escaping from police custody.
• The Raids: Based on Adebayo’s confession, police conducted raids across various locations. At Dele Jimoh’s residence, investigators recovered four locally made, cut-to-size single-barrel guns, 13 live cartridges, and hair attachments used for disguises, all concealed inside a sack.
• Prosecution’s Case: State Prosecutor Kunle-Shina Adeyemo presented a compelling case by calling two key witnesses and submitting critical physical evidence, including the defendants’ original taped confessions, a video disc containing their admissions, and an official medical report from the Afe Babalola University Multi-System Hospital (ABUAD MSH) establishing the cause of Chief Emmanuel Ajayi’s death.
• The Defence: Represented by legal counsels Adeyinka Opaleke and Olugbolaga Sunday, the defendants called no witnesses to support their claims of innocence.

A History of Crime and Uncompromising Justice

A major revelation during sentencing was that Ogunremi Bunmi was a habitual offender. Justice Olatawura highlighted that Bunmi was already a known ex-convict when he joined this syndicate. The judge noted that their confessional statements proved beyond doubt that they were “serial kidnappers, armed robbers, and housebreakers”.

In his final remarks, Justice Olatawura emphasized that the Criminal Code Law of Ekiti State leaves no room for judicial discretion or leniency when dealing with kidnapping combined with murder.

When the Ekiti State Police Command originally paraded the group, the hierarchy and support network of the gang were exposed:

• Dele Jimoh (alias Dele Petim): Arrested in Ilorin, Kwara State, he served as the third-in-command of the entire network, with Ogunremi Bunmi and Ige Adu operating directly under him.
• Logistics & Intelligence: The syndicate operated with a structured support system, including Jimoh Fayoke (a woman responsible for food and logistics) and a local vulcanizer who scouted targets and served as the gang’s local informant.

The court ultimately concluded that society could only be made safe by removing these individuals permanently.

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Pattern of Escalation and Timeline of Crimes

A deeper examination into Ogunremi Bunmi (Bunmi Bafon) reveals the specific timeframes, operational methods, and calculated targeting that characterized his syndicate’s multi-state operations.

Bunmi’s taped confessions clearly trace his step-by-step escalation toward high-profile abductions, showing how the stakes grew higher with each operation:

1. Alhaji Sulaimon Akinbami: The oil marketer was forcibly taken from his filling station in Ureje, Ado-Ekiti. The victim later noted that his captors spoke fluent Yoruba and possessed intricate knowledge of the local area.
2. Mrs. Olalusi Dapo: The syndicate successfully abducted the wife of the former Ekiti State Surveyor-General.
3. Akure Operation: To evade concentrated security operations across state lines, Bunmi’s group executed a large-scale abduction in Akure, the capital of Ondo State.
4. Kidnapping of His Mother-in-Law: Driven by financial greed, Bunmi masterminded the abduction of his own mother-in-law, utilizing his local knowledge to give ground units precise operational timelines.
5. Attempt on Royal Royalty: The syndicate targeted high-level leadership by attempting to kidnap the traditional ruler, Oba Abiodun Ajayi, in Ekiti.
6. The Fatal Crime (Chief Emmanuel Ajayi): The crime that ultimately sealed their fate was the home invasion of Chief Emmanuel Ajayi near the Immigration Office in Ado-Ekiti. Unlike previous operations where victims were kept alive to collect ransoms running into millions of naira, Chief Ajayi was killed during or immediately after the abduction.