ASSISTANT Superintendent of Police (ASP) Drambi Vandi has been arraigned for the murder of Bolanle Raheem, a Lagos-based female lawyer.
Vandi shot and killed the lawyer on Christmas Day in the Ajah area of Lagos.
Following the arraignment before a Yaba Magistrate Court on Friday, December 30, Vandi was remanded in the Ikoyi Correctional Centre, Lagos State, till January 30, 2023.
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The spokesperson for the Lagos State Police Command, Benjamin Hundeyin, disclosed this in a tweet on Friday.
“Drambi Vandi was, this morning, arraigned in court and has been remanded at the Ikoyi Correctional Centre till January 30, 2023 to give room for DPP advice,” Hundeyin tweeted.
The arraignment followed a one-count charge filed against Vandi on Friday by the Attorney-General of Lagos State, Moyosore Onigbanjo, SAN.
The charge read: “That you ASP Drambi Vandi on the 25th day of December 2022, at Ajah Road, along the Lekki Expressway, Lagos, unlawfully killed one Omobolanle Raheem by shooting the deceased in the chest contrary to Section 223 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2015.”
The Attorney-General appeared with the Solicitor General of Lagos State, Ms. Titilayo Shitta-Bey, the Director of Public Prosecutions, Dr. Babajide Martins, and the officer in charge of Legal, Nigeria Police Force, Lagos State Command, Yetunde Cardoso.
The prosecution team, led by the Attorney General, told The Chief Magistrate, Miss Adeola Olatunbosun, that the reason for the remand is to allow the police conclude its investigations into the matter.
Thereafter, the magistrate granted the request to remand Vandi at the Ikoyi Correctional Centre and ordered that the case file be duplicated and sent to the Director of Public Prosecution, Dr. Jide Martins, for legal advice.
The matter was subsequently adjourned to January 30, 2023 to await legal advice.
Vandi’s arraignment is coming a day after the Police Service Commission approved his immediate suspension.
The spokesperson for the PSC, Ikechukwu Ani, confirmed the development in a statement after the Inspector-General of Police, Usman Baba, recommended that Vandi be suspended for his actions.
Nurudeen Akewushola is an investigative reporter and fact-checker with The ICIR. He believes courageous in-depth investigative reporting is the key to social justice, accountability and good governance in society. You can reach him via nyahaya@icirnigeria.org and @NurudeenAkewus1 on Twitter.