A police inspector assigned to Lagos State’s Ajah division testified in the trial of Drambi Vandi, the officer charged with the murder of Bolanle Raheem.
On Wednesday, Ebimine Fiyegha appeared as the second witness in the murder trial before Ibironke Harrison, the judge of the Lagos High Court in Tafawa Balewa Square.
While narrating the incident, the witness told the court that the defendant attempted to flee in a ‘Korope’ bus when they heard the gunshot.
Mrs Raheem, who was pregnant, was fatally shot on Christmas day by a police officer assigned to the Ajiwe police division in the state’s Ajah region.
The state government preferred a single count of murder against the defendant and arraigned him for the lawyer’s murder.
Matthew Ahmed, one of the police officers assigned to the Ajah underbridge on the day of the incident, had previously testified in court.
Testimony
Mr Fiyegha described what happened on December 25, 2022, saying the defendant was the leader of the three-man patrol team that was dispatched to the Ajah underbridge.
The witness stated that he and the defendant were both armed and that no one’s life was in danger when the incident occurred, and that before he and his colleagues left for Ajah Underbridge on December 25, 2022, the DPO in charge of the Ajah Division told the officers not to use their firearms unless there was a threat to life, and that prayers were said by another corporal before they set out.
“”I was in the front row at the Ajah underbridge. Inspector Ahmed and I were about 20 meters apart. Vandi was the last person standing. “That’s how we set ourselves up,” he explained.
“I was prepared. SUPOL Vandi, our team leader, was armed. My rifle was loaded with eight rounds of ammunition.
“Around 1 p.m., I noticed one Toyota Venza with one woman in the passenger seat and one man driving. It did not stop when I flagged it down. I was perplexed as to why. “He wasn’t going fast.”
The police inspector went on to say that he heard a gunshot immediately after the car carrying the deceased and her family passed him at the checkpoint.
During cross-examination, the defendant’s lawyer, Odutola Adetokunbo, asked the witness if he saw Mr Vandi when he pulled the trigger.
“Like I said earlier, I was backing him up when I heard the sound,” the officer replied.
“How far is it between you and SUPOL Vandi at the Ajah Underbridge?” Mr Adetokunbo inquired.
“There was a 20-metre gap between me and Inspector Ahmed. “It could be 50 meters for me and SUPOL Vandi,” he said.
“From which side of the road did the car come?” Mr Adetokunbo inquired.
“The car came from VGC and was facing Abraham Adesanya road,” he explained.
The trial judge then rescheduled the case for Thursday.
