PRESS RELEASE
St. John’s, Antigua – In just under two years on the bench, a Nigerian-born judge undoubtedly left his mark on Antigua and Barbuda’s criminal court with rulings that unsettled the state, freed some condemned, and rigorously tested the limits of the law. Now, as he departs to serve another jurisdiction, Justice Tunde Ademola Bakre leaves behind a judicial record that will surely go down in court history.
Bakre was sworn in as a High Court Judge of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (ECSC) on September 29, 2023, just in time to preside over Antigua and Barbuda’s first judge-alone murder trial. Two months later, he sentenced 30-year-old Jeffrey Daniel to 20 years in prison for the killing of his girlfriend’s stepfather, Robinson Roberts, during an altercation in Newfield.
Nigerian Judge, Tunde Ademola Bakre at a farewell ceremony at the High Court of
The trial was historic, marking the nation’s adoption of judge-alone proceedings to address COVID-era backlogs and accelerate justice. It also showcased the prosecutorial capacity of the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, then led by acting Director Shannon Jones-Gittens, in managing complex judge-alone proceedings.
It would not be the only judge alone trial that Bakre would oversee during his time in Antigua. The most talked about was that of the state vs. Ray John. If Daniel’s conviction showed the efficiency of judge-alone trials, this case troublesomely revealed their limits.
In State vs. Ray John – the case against a suspended police superintendent accused of forging passport bio-pages – Bakre delivered an unexpected judgment. After four weeks of testimony and legal argument, he struck out the case, ruling that he lacked jurisdiction without a jury, since the charges did not fall under the Criminal Proceedings (Trial by Judge Alone) Act. It was an oversight the state’s prosecutorial team failed to recognize. The ruling stunned thousands who had followed the trial closely and were hoping for closure.
Nigerian Judge, Tunde Ademola Bakre at a farewell ceremony at the High Court of Justice in Antigua & Barbuda on Thursday September 26, 2025
But if that ruling embarrassed the state, others cut even deeper. In one of his most consequential judgments, Bakre ordered the release of Jamaican national Methoni Vernon, accused of murdering farmer Roy Carridice in 2014. During the investigation, Vernon relocated to Dominica, where he lived for years before Antigua and Dominica police orchestrated his covert removal, sidestepping formal extradition procedures.
Bakre condemned the move as an “abuse of process,” ruling that allowing the case to proceed would compromise the integrity of justice. The decision left a major blemish on the state but marked a decisive victory for Vernon’s attorney, Andrew O’kola, who said Bakre had “exercised a measure of inherent jurisdiction to prevent abuse by the State.”
Nigerian Judge, Tunde Ademola Bakre at a farewell ceremony at the High Court of Justice in Antigua & Barbuda on Thursday September 26, 2025
O’kola noted that Justice Bakre consistently refused to cherry-pick evidence, even when internal contradictions made convictions unsafe. “Justice Bakre brought a calm, steady authority to his duties at the High Court. He was not only well-prepared, but courteous and exacting,” he said. “He kept us, as counsel, focused on the issues, managed the occupational hazards without drama, and gave reasons that illuminated both the route to justice and the result. Like any advocate, I sometimes disagreed with outcomes.”
Bakre also showed little hesitation in addressing mental health in criminal law. In the case of 24-year-old Brittany Jno Bapsite – who killed Jane Finch in her home without provocation – the defence sought psychiatric confinement. Bakre reduced the charge from murder to manslaughter on grounds of diminished responsibility but nevertheless imposed a 27-year prison sentence, ruling that the evidence did not support full leniency. That decision is now under appeal by attorney-at-law Wendel Alexander.
Nigerian Judge, Tunde Ademola Bakre at a farewell ceremony at the High Court of Justice in Antigua & Barbuda on Thursday September 26, 2025