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Police Officer Sentenced To Death For Killing Lawyer Bolanle Raheem
Mr. Vandi was arraigned on January 16, 2023, on a count charge of murder but he pleaded not guilty
Lagos, Nigeria – Justice Ibironke Harrison of the Lagos State High Court has pronounced a death sentence by hanging for Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Drambi Vandi.
Vandi was found guilty of the tragic killing of lawyer Barrister Bolanle Raheem on Christmas Day, December 25, 2022, at a police checkpoint in Lagos.
Delivering judgment on Monday, October 9, the court found the suspended Assistant Superintendent of Police guilty of the Christmas Day killing of the lawyer and sentenced him to death by hanging.
Mr. Vandi was arraigned on January 16, 2023, on a count charge of murder but he pleaded not guilty. The court granted an accelerated hearing on the case.
The Lagos State Government had said Vandi shot Mrs Raheem in the chest on Dec. 25, 2022, at Ajah Roundabout, on Lekki- Expressway, Lagos State. The state government told the court that the crime contravenes Section 223 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.
The Prosecution team led by a former attorney general and Commissioner for Justice, Moyosore Onigbanjo (SAN), called a total of 11 witnesses including eight police officers. The prosecution closed its case on Feb. 25.
On Feb. 28, the defendant through his counsel, Gbenro Gbadamosi, filed an application, praying the court to quash the charge against him.
On April 3, the court, however, dismissed the no-case submission filed by Vandi.
Justice Harrison held that the prosecution established sufficient oral and documentary evidence linking the defendant to the crime.