A Lagos State Magistrate Court has ordered that the policeman accused of killing a young man named Kolade Johnson be remanded in prison custody until May 6.

Johnson was shot dead by men of the Special Anti-Cultism Squad (SACS) of the Lagos State Police Command on Sunday at the Mangoro area of Lagos at a football viewing centre where he had gone to watch English Premier League match.

Witnesses said the policemen wanted to arrest a resident of the area who spotted a dreadlocks hairstyle, but when the locals tried to intervene, the officers fired gunshots to scare the people away and the bullet hit Johnson. He died before he could be taken to the hospital.

Following a social media outcry, the leadership of the Nigerian Police pledged to fish out the officers that committed the crime and bring them to justice.

On Thursday, the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Bala Elkana, issued a statement saying that two policemen have been arrested in connection to the crime. He gave the names of the arrested suspects as Ogunyemi Olalekan and Godwin Orji, an inspector and sergeant respectively.

Elkana, however, disclosed that after an orderly room trial, one of the disciplinary measures in the Police Force, Olalekan was found guilty of killing Kolade Johnson and was accordingly dismissed in accordance with the rules of the force.

Orji, the second accused person, was discharged and acquitted, according to the police spokesman, as there was no evidence linking him to the shooting.

On Friday, Olalekan was arraigned in court by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Police, who asked the court to remand the accused for 30 days, but the defence counsel pleaded that the remand period be reduced to 14 days.

The trial magistrate, A. Salawu, subsequently ruled that suspect should be kept at the Ikoyi Prisons, to enable her to seek legal advice from the Lagos State Director of Public Prosecution. She adjourned the trial till May 6.