As calls for justice for murdered pregnant lawyer Bolanle Raheem grow louder, the Police Service Commission on Thursday approved the immediate suspension of suspected murderer Police Officer ASP Drambi Vandi.
PSC spokesman Ikechukwu Ani confirmed the development in a statement after Police Inspector General Usman Baba recommended that Vandi be suspended for pulling the trigger that killed Raheem on Christmas Day in the Ajah area of Lagos state cost.
Ani said: “The Commission, in a letter signed by Acting Chairwoman Clara Ogunbiyi to the Inspector General of Police, stated that the Commission had carefully considered the facts of the case, observations and recommendations regarding allegations against the officer and approved the suspension of the officer with immediate effect.”
Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu said Thursday there would be no cover-up of the investigation and prosecution of the perpetrator.
The governor, during his visit to the IG at police headquarters in Abuja, said the outcome of the investigation into the case is important to the government and people of the state.
“We came here this morning, first to send greetings to the Inspector General of Police and to update him on the security situation in Lagos State, particularly the recent unfortunate incident of the death of a woman, Bolanle Raheem, who was struck by a police officer’s bullet , and also a previous incident that happened weeks earlier.
“For me as the governor of the state, I think it’s important and it’s so serious to come here and get a sense of how quickly we can bring this official to justice. And we’ve received a very positive response and commitment from the Inspector General of Police himself,” Sanwo-Olu said.
The Nigerian Bar Association, Lagos Branch, vowed Thursday to monitor Vandi’s prosecution.
In a statement, a senior Nigerian attorney, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa (SAN), said he would lead a team of NBA attorneys to work with the Lagos State Department of Justice to prosecute the police officer.
“The President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Lagos Branch, of which Ms. Raheem is a member, Mr. Ikechukwu Uwana, contacted Mr. Adegboruwa to lead the NBA’s legal team that will oversee the police officer’s trial.
“The NBA, Lagos, in cooperation with the President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Mr. YC Mikyau (SAN), has decided to participate in the prosecution of the police officer in order to ensure swift and effective justice for the family of the deceased,” reads it in the statement.
According to the Nigerian News Agency, Adegboruwa stated that the NBA would seek NBA 5 billion in damages and called for a reorientation of all police officers and men on how to use guns.
Human rights lawyer Femi Falana (SAN), responding to the tragic death of Raheem, said it was time for lawyers to take a stand against the atrocities committed by trigger-happy police officers in Nigeria.
In Thursday’s statement, Falana said, “The gruesome killing of Ms Bolanle Raheem offers the Nigerian people, led by lawyers, an opportunity to address the root cause of the extrajudicial killings of unarmed citizens by law enforcement officials.”
While stressing the need for human rights to be included in the Nigeria Police Academy’s curriculum, Falana said the training of police cadets remained as brutal as it was under the British colonial regime.
But NBA President Yakubu Maikyau said Thursday in a program monitored by our correspondent on Channels Television that the federation is suspicious of the pursuit of Vandi.
Citing Sections 96 and 103 of the Police Act 2020, Maikyau argued that he disagreed that the public should wait for the erring officer’s suspension before prosecuting him.
He said: “If you look at the provisions of the Police Act 2020, if you read Section 96 of this Act and also Section 103 of this Act, of course it is very clear that once a police officer is accused of having committed a specific crime and in this particular case suspected murder, nothing in this law shall be construed as disallowing the prosecution of that police officer or subjecting the prosecution or investigation of that police officer to any specific internal mechanisms of the Nigerian Police.”
In response to Raheem’s death, Ondo South Senator Nicholas Tofowomo urged the President, Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), to implement police reform to curb the extrajudicial killings of innocent Nigerians by security agents.
Tofowomo, in a statement from his media adviser Olumide Akinrinlola, said: “President Buhari should be aware that since my inauguration as a member of the 9th Senate in 2019, I have campaigned for meaningful police reform. There is still plenty of time for His Excellency to set up a Police Reform Conference as a legacy for you to leave behind.”
A coalition of over 223 women’s organizations under the aegis of Womanifesto also called for justice for the 41-year-old lawyer on Thursday.
The NGO described the unlawful use of force as “a threat to life, liberty, security and equal protection under the law,” saying there are strict international standards for how and when police can use force or firearms.
A human rights group, Women Aid Collective, while condemning the killing of Raheem by a trigger-happy police officer, said police learned nothing from the #EndSARS protest, adding that since the protest, police officers “have aggravated their atrocities against with complete impunity.” Nigerians they were paid to protect.”