Popular Cross-Border Robbery Kingpin, Hamani Tijani, Dies In Prison

A suspected cross-border robbery kingpin, Hamani Tijani died on Sunday after suffering partial stroke for nine months at the Kirikiri Maximum Prisons, Lagos State. Tijani died around 9am in the clinic of the maximum prison. Before his death, a team of medical experts were sent to the prison by the Lagos State Government before Christmas to examine him, but the outcome of their findings was not made available. Tijani, a citizen of Niger Republic, was arrested in September 2003 in Cotonou, Benin Republic, and moved to Abeokuta, Ogun State, briefly before he was transferred to Kirikiri.

NAN reports that the deceased spent 11 years in prison custody while his trial was still ongoing before his death. Tijani was standing trial before Justice Sybil Nwaka of Lagos High Court on three counts of conspiracy to commit armed robbery, armed robbery and receiving stolen goods. Tijani’s corpse had been deposited at the mortuary in the Ikeja General Hospital pending further instruction from the appropriate authority.