A SUSPENDED Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Drambi Vandi has pleaded not guilty while being arraigned for the murder of Lagos female lawyer Bolanle Raheem.
Vandi was arraigned on a one-count charge bordering on murder before the Lagos State High Court, Tafawa Balewa Square, on Monday, January 16.
He pleaded not guilty after the charge was read to him.
However, the first witness called by the prosecution in the trial, Matthew Ahmen, an Inspector of Police, who is also Vandi’s colleague, narrated how the suspect killed the victim.
Ahmed told the court that they were conducting a stop and search when the incident happened.
According to him, Vandi, who was the leader of their team, was behind while he was in the middle, and another colleague, Inspector Dimini, was in the front.
Ahmen said when Dimini saw a car coming, he flagged it down but the car didn’t stop. He added that when the car got to where he was standing, he also flagged the car down but it didn’t stop.
“The next thing I heard was a gunshot and I looked back to see what was happening and I saw that a windscreen was falling.
“The next thing I saw again was a dark woman who jumped down from the vehicle and I heard her saying that ‘oga you have killed my sister.’ The woman held him (Vandi) and before I and Dimini could get to them, they had entered the car, locked it, and left.”
The ICIR reported that Raheem was allegedly shot dead by Vandi in the Ajah area of Lagos on Christmas Day, December 25, 2022.
She was returning home with her family when she met her death.
Vandi was arrested and appeared before Chief Magistrate C.A. Adedayo on December 30, 2022, a day after the Police Service Commission approved his suspension.
The killing of Raheem towards the end of 2022 generated outrage as Police officers allegedly killed two persons within three weeks.
Raheem and a young man, Gafaru Buraimoh, were allegedly killed by police officers attached to the same station.
A reporter with the ICIR
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