Bolanle Raheem: Suspended police officer sentenced to death 

By Fatai Kasali

The Lagos High Court Sitting at the Tafawa Balewa Square on Lagos Island, on Monday, sentenced the suspended Assistant Superintendent of Police, Drambi Vandi, who killed a Lagos-based lawyer, Mrs. Omobolanle Raheem, to death by hanging.

Justice Ibironke Harrison sentenced the ASP after finding him guilty of the murder of the pregnant lawyer.

Harrison held that the prosecution was able to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt.

The judge also held that the convict shot the deceased at close range.

It was gathered that in April that the court dismissed a “no case submission” filed Vandi.

Justice Harrison ordered the defendant to open his defence as a ‘prima facie’ has been made against him.

In his application on the no-case submission, Vandi had asked the court to dismiss the suit and discharge him claiming that he had no case to answer.

In his arguments, the defence counsel, Adetokunbo Odutola, told the court to note among other things that none of the eyewitnesses saw the defendant shoot and that the ballistic report of the gun allegedly fired expressly stated that the bullet could not be linked with any of the firearms recovered from the police officers at the scene.

Oduntola who argued that the pathologist who testified mentioned that the bullet penetrated from the left through the armpit while the prosecution stated that the deceased was shot in the chest.

However, the prosecution led by the Attorney General of Lagos State, Moyosore Onigbanjo (SAN), had countered the arguments and urged the defendant to defend himself insisting that the prosecution had successfully made its case against him.