•Report by Mudasir Opeyemi
The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) on Thursday expressed suspicion about the way the Nigeria Police Force is handling the killing of a Lagos-based lawyer, Bolanle Raheem.
The Bar also expressed displeasure over what it described as “lackadaisical attitude” of the police since the lawyer was shot dead by an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), Drambi Vandi.
Raheem, was allegedly shot on Christmas day when she was on trying to make a U-turn under the Ajah Bridge. The victim was rushed to a hospital but was confirmed dead.
Vandi, who was attached to the Ajiwe Police Station in the Ajah area of Lagos, had on Christmas Day shot at the victim.
The cop and his team were said to have tried to stop Raheem and her family members as they drove back home from a Christmas Day church service.
The killing of Raheem has attracted outrage with many Nigerians including top presidential candidates for 2023 calling for police reforms.
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Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari has also condemned the murder of the lawyer. The sad incident occurred just about two years after the #EndSARS nationwide protests against police brutality and extrajudicial killings.
Similarly, the Police Service Commission (PSC) on Thursday approved the suspension of Vandi after the recommendation of the Inspector General of Police, Usman Baba.
The NBA subsequently demanded N5bn damages for the family of the victim and immediate justice on the matter.
While speaking on Channels Television’s live program tagged Politics Today, NBA President, Yakubu Maiyaku said he did not agree with some procedures that’s being followed by Nigeria Police over the matter.
He added that the association have some suspicion about how this matter is being handled right now by the police.
“There was nothing like Merry Christmas for the Nigeria Bar Association because of the killing of Bolanle Raheem on a Christmas Day. That Killing was barbaric, callous and wicked. There was no justification whatsoever of taking the life of Bolanle.
“So,the Nigeria Bar Association is saddened, bleeding because of what has happened to Bolanle and not only Bolanle alone.
“We’ve been dealing with issues of attacks on the lives of legal practitioners in the recent past
Reacting to the stand of Nigeria Police that some procedures need to be followed before the alleged police officer could be prosecuted, Maiyaku said he did not agree to it.
“I listened to the Force Public Relations Officer yesterday (Wednesday). He talked about certain processes that had to be followed.
I do not agree with that because that does not represent the position of the law,” Maiyaku said
“If you look at the provisions of the Police Act 2020, Section 96 of that Act, and also Section 103 of that Act, it is very clear that once a police officer is accused of having committed a particular crime and in this case, the suspicion is that of murder, there is nothing that can be interpreted in that Act as not allowing for the prosecution of that police officer or objecting the prosecution or investigation of that police officer to certain internal mechanisms of Nigeria Police.”
The NBA President said the Nigerian public should not be made to wait perpetually for the police to go through their so-called internal procedure before the prosecution of the suspect.
“I see some lackadaisical attitude in that respect,” he said.
“I say this because once you allow time in this manner to pass, then so many things can happen.
“Don’t forget already there is this story that is making rounds about the possible involvement of this same person(Vamdi) in the killing of customs officer sometimes in mid 90s somewhere in Minna and the trial of that particular person was frustrated, aborted and we don’t know what happened,” Maiyaku noted