Probe Begins For Officer, Team Mates Involved In Death Of Female Lawyer In Lagos –Nigeria Police

The Lagos command of the Nigeria Police Force says it has begun the probing of a policeman that killed a female legal practitioner, Omobolanle Raheem in Lagos State.

 

SaharaReporters had reported that Omobolanle was reportedly shot dead on Sunday by a police officer on Christmas Day in the Ajah area of Lagos.

 

The police officer who shot the lawyer on Sunday, Christmas Day, is reportedly attached to Ajiwe Police Station.

 

Meanwhile, in a statement released on Monday through the command’s spokesman, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, the police said they have started an investigation into the matter while expressing their condolences to Omobolanle’s relatives.

The statement reads: “The Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Command, CP Abiodun Alabi, fdc has expressed heartfelt condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of Barrister Bolanle Raheem who was shot dead by a police officer in Ajah on Sunday, December 25, 2022.

 

“On the instruction of the Commissioner of Police, the errant officer has since been taken into custody alongside his team members. The CP has equally directed that the case be transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department, Yaba for in-depth investigation.

 

“This has become one too many, especially bearing in mind that a similar incident occurred at the same location less than three weeks ago. The condemnable incident is against the standard operating procedures (SOP) and rules of engagement of the Force, and to say the least is embarrassing.

 

“Beyond this incident, the Nigeria Police Force will carry out a reappraisal of its rules of engagement in a bid to put an end to such avoidable ugly incidents.

 

“The Lagos State Police Command hereby appeals to the good people and residents of Lagos State to remain calm as the Command is already in constant touch with the Nigerian Bar Association and other relevant stakeholders towards ensuring that justice totally prevails.”

 

Stories of police brutality are rampant in Nigeria, Africa’s largest democracy.

 

As the country's security forces tortured, maimed, and killed for decades, young people across the country took to the streets for days in October 2020.

 

The protesting youths called on the government to disband the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), a rogue police unit notorious for extrajudicial killings, extortions, and kidnapping, among other heinous crimes.

 

However, two years after the #EndSARS protests, the killing of Omobolanle is another concrete proof that police brutality is still very much alive in the country.