Following the brutal murder of one of its members, Mrs Bolanle Raheem, the Lagos branch of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has stated that it will seek at least $5 billion in compensation for the dead lawyer’s family from the Lagos State Government and the Nigeria Police Force. The organization will also keep an eye on the trial of Assistant Superintendent of Police Drambi Vandi, who is now detained.
This was stated in a statement signed by human rights activist Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, SAN, on Thursday.
“In this context, the NBA will collaborate with the Ministry of Justice throughout the trial,” the statement said in part.
Mr Adegboruwa, in turn, obtained pertinent information from the Hon Attorney-General of Lagos State and obtained guarantees of an expedited prosecution once the case file is received from the police.
Mr Adegboruwa urged the government and relevant authorities to go beyond issuing “simple public statements of grief on the terrible death of Mrs Raheem” and to speed up the prosecution of the killer and payment of compensation to the deceased’s family and all other victims of police brutality.
Bolanle Raheem, a lawyer, was shot on Sunday, December 25, 2022, in the Ajah district of the state.
The event occurred after church service, when the family went shopping, and an officer from the division’s Ajiwe police station shother.
The event drew significant condemnation, and the Lagos police department detained an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) and two other officers.
The inspector-general of police, Usman Baba, has also ordered a prompt inquiry and prosecution of the officer involved in the incident.
The Lagos Police Command released the identity of the officer who shot Bolanle Raheem on Wednesday, December 28.
Benjamin Hundeyin, a police spokesperson, revealed the killers’ identities on his verified Twitter page.
The suspect, according to Hundeyin, has been sent to the State Criminal Investigation Department.
“The inquiry report has been transmitted to the Force Headquarters in Abuja for further action,” he tweeted.