By Akeem Oduyoye
A suspended Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Drambi Vandi on Monday bagged death by hanging for allegedly shooting to death the 41-year-old pregnant lawyer at the Ajah under bridge checkpoint on December 25, 2022.
Justice Ibironke Harrison of the Lagos State High Court sitting at the Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS) handed down the verdict after holding that the prosecution had proven its case against the suspect beyond all reasonable doubt.
An Inspector of Police, Matthew Ahmen, who is a colleague of Drambi Vandi, told told the court on monday that they were conducting a stop and search when the incident happened.
He said 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 , who was the first prosecution witness said when Dimini saw a car coming, he flagged it down but the car didn’t stop, and when the car got to where he was standing, he also flagged the car down but the car didn’t stop as well.
“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,” Ahmen said.
Justice Harrison, in the judgment that lasted for over two hours, held the evidence of the 11 witnesses who testified for the prosecution was credible and convincing enough to convict the suspended Police officer.
The judge, therefore, sentenced the convict to death, stating tha: “You are to be hung by the neck until you are dead. May God have mercy on your soul.”
Late Raheem was said to be returning home from an outing with her family when she was shot on Christmas Day.
Raheem’s death generated widespread criticism from many persons and groups in the country, as they condemned what they described as extrajudicial killing, linking the incident to be one of such reasons for the nationwide #EndSARS protest of 2020.