A HIGH Court in Lagos State has sentenced Drambi Vandi, a suspended Assistant Superintendent of Police involved in killing Bolanle Raheem, a lawyer, to death by hanging.
In her ruling on Monday, October 9, the trial judge, Ibironke Harrison, convicted Vandi of a one-count charge of murder for the death of the pregnant lawyer.
According to Harrison, the prosecution established its case beyond a reasonable doubt.
The judge concluded that the offender shot the victim at close range.
On April 3, The ICIR reported that a Lagos High Court dismissed the ‘no case submission’ filed by Vandi, accused of killing Lagos-based lawyer Bolanle Raheem.
Vandi shot and killed Raheem on December 25, 2022, while she was returning from Christmas Day church service in the Ajah area of Lagos.
He was subsequently arraigned before the court days after the Police Service Commission (PSC) approved his immediate suspension.
At the resumption of the case on Monday, April 3, Justice Ibironke Harrison ordered the defendant to open his defence as a ‘prima facie’ case has been made against him.
Vandi had asked the court to dismiss the case and discharge him, stating that he had no case to answer.
In the no-case submission, Vandi’s lawyer, Adetokunbo Odutola, argued that none of the eyewitnesses saw the defendant fire the gunshot.
He added that the ballistic report of the gun allegedly fired stated that the bullet could not be linked with any firearms recovered from the police officers at the scene.
Odutola also pointed out that the pathologist who testified mentioned that the bullet penetrated from the left through the armpit, while the prosecution stated that the deceased was shot in the chest.
The prosecution, led by the Attorney General of Lagos State, Moyosore Onigbanjo (SAN), countered the defence counsel’s arguments and urged the court to order the defendant to defend himself. He insisted that the prosecution had successfully made its case against the cop.
Ruling on the matter, the court dismissed the ‘no case’ submission and ordered the alleged killer cop to defend himself.
A reporter with the ICIR
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