The Pacesetter Frontier Magazine

Tag: Bolanle Raheem

  • Bolanle’s murder: How lawyers can end police brutality —Falana

    Bolanle’s murder: How lawyers can end police brutality —Falana

    Also condemning the murder, rights activist, Mr Femi Falana, SAN, urged legal practitioners to end extrajudicial killings in the country.

    Falana, in a statement, said: “The cruel killing of Mrs Bolanle Raheem provides an opportunity for the Nigerian people led by lawyers to address the root cause of the extrajudicial killing of unarmed citizens by law enforcement officers. On July 15, 1981, Dele Udo, a United States-based athlete and a potential world beater in the 400 metres was shot dead by a trigger-happy policeman at Ojuelegba in Lagos State. That was the beginning of the reckless shooting of unarmed citizens by armed policemen and armed soldiers on the roads.

    “It is pertinent to note that despite the demand of the human rights community for fundamental reform of the curriculum of the police academy the training of police cadets has remained as brutish as it was under the British colonial regime. Upon their graduation, the recruits usually unleash violence on a society that had dehumanised them in the police academy. Having been brutalised themselves, they derive pleasure in subjecting suspects to physical, mental and psychological torture. During the interrogation of a suspect, it is not uncommon for a policeman to threaten that ‘I will kill you and nothing will happen.’

    “Nigerian lawyers must ensure that Mrs Raheem does not die in vain like others who were dispatched to their untimely graves before her. Indeed, the best tribute that the NBA can pay to the deceased is to use her cold-blooded murder to mobilise the Nigerian people to end police brutality in Nigeria. To start with, police checkpoints must be removed from Nigerian roads. The roads should be patrolled by combined teams of officers from the police and road safety commission.”

    Besides, the rights activist said: “The NBA should prevail on the Federal Government and State Governments to publish the reports and implement the recommendations of the judicial panels. Otherwise, the NBA should adopt legal measures to compel the Governments to implement the recommendations.

    “Furthermore, the NBA should mount pressure on state governments to enact laws for the establishment of human rights bodies to protect the human rights of citizens. This was the principal resolution adopted by the National Economic Council after the #EndSARS protests.”

  • NBA vows to ensure justice is served in Bolanle’s case

    NBA vows to ensure justice is served in Bolanle’s case

    The Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, on Thursday, vowed to ensure justice was served in the case of Lagos-based female lawyer, Bolanle Raheem, who was shot dead by a police officer on Christmas day.

    The police officer, who was later identified as Drambi Vandi, an Assistant Superintendent of Police, ASP, was attached to Ajiwe Police Station in Ajah, Lagos State.

    The cop and his team were said to have tried to stop Raheem and her family members as they drove back home from a church service.

    Raheem was shot when her car attempted to make a U-turn under the Ajah Bridge and was later pronounced dead at the hospital to which she was rushed, causing outrage among Nigerians.

    Reacting to the incident on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme, on Thursday, the NBA’s 3rd Vice President, Mandy Asagba, chastised the police officer for violating the police code of conduct and assured the victim’s family that the NBA will pursue the case with them until justice is served.

    Asagba said: “They have rules and a code of conduct. One thing I have noticed with the system in Nigeria, particularly the police is that they kind of go outside the law at any point in time, they violate the law; they go contrary to the law most of the time. Constitutionally it was wrong, going by the police SOP, it is unacceptable, it’s so inhuman, it’s unthinkable I must say and I say to myself this could have happened to anybody.

    “So if Nigerians are going to keep quiet at this then trust me anybody can be the next victim, but I thank God Nigerians are not keeping quiet The NBA President has said it without mincing words that we are ready to go all the way out, we are ready to be the complainants with the family, we are also ready to ensure that we are not just going to the root of the matter but to uproot the system of injustice happening in the land.”

    IGP meets with Sanwo-Olu, pledges justice

    Meanwhile, the Inspector General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba, yesterday, restated that justice will be served in the murder of Mrs Raheem.

    The IGP, who stated this while receiving Governor Sanwo-Olu at the Force Headquarters in Abuja, also cleared the air on the identity of the police officer arrested in connection with the murder of the late Raheem.

    Speaking during the meeting, the governor said: “We have come here this morning to get an update and also to brief him on the security situation in Lagos, especially the death of the late Mrs Raheem.”

    While condemning Raheem’s murder, Sanwo-Olu said he is collaborating with the police leadership in ensuring that the sad event does not repeat itself.

    PSC approves suspension of killer cop

    Meanwhile, the Police Service Commission, PSC, yesterday, approved the suspension of ASP Vandi, who allegedly shot and killed Mrs Raheem.

    The PSC, in a statement by its spokesman, Ikechukwu Ani said: “The Commission also directed that the final investigation into the matter is concluded to enable the Commission take further necessary action.

    “The Commission, in a letter to the Inspector-General of Police, signed by the acting Chairman Justice Clara Bata Ogunbiyi, stated that the Commission has carefully examined the facts of the case, observations and recommendation with respect to allegations against the officer and granted approval for the suspension of the officer from duty with immediate effect.”

    (Vanguard)

  • Outrage, fury over Lagos lawyer’s murder

    Outrage and fury of monumental proportion have continued to trail the killing of a Lagos female lawyer, Bolanle Raheem, by a trigger-happy policeman in the Ajah axis of the state on Christmas Day.

    Raheem and her family members were said to be on their way home from a Christmas Day church service when the policeman (yet to be identified) attached to the Ajah Police Station and his team tried to stop them. The deceased was said to have been shot at a U-turn under the Ajah Bridge and was rushed to a hospital, where she was confirmed dead.

    Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, yesterday expressed shock and sadness over the mindless shooting of “a harmless citizen” by a police officer whose primary job was to protect the same citizen.

    He said: “I have studied preliminary reports on the matter and have instructed the appropriate government officers to immediately get on it. We must ensure speedy justice for the late Bolanle. Our government cannot sit back and watch our citizens killed by the same law enforcers that should ordinarily protect them.

    “I’m aware that the Lagos State police command has arrested, disarmed and detained the police officers involved in the shooting incident. I can assure you that the accused persons will have their day in court, and nothing will be spared under the Laws of Lagos State, until justice is served adequately. We will ensure that it is done speedily because justice delayed is justice denied.”

    Also reacting to the incident, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has demanded that justice be served on the matter.

    National Publicity Secretary of the association, Akorede Lawal, in a statement, yesterday said: “This is yet another crime against a lawyer. Regrettably, our member is gone…We shall ensure that justice is duly served.”

    Popular comedian, Debo Adebayo, also known as Mr Macaroni, described Raheem’s killing as barbaric.

    “A Nigerian Police Officer from Ajiwe division shot and killed Bolanle Raheem on Xmas day. It is from this same division an Officer killed Gafaru Buraimoh about two weeks ago. This barbarism by the Nigerian Police must come to an end. These murderers must pay for their crimes,” he wrote on social media.

    Prominent human rights activist and a former Chairman of Nigeria’s National Human Rights Commission, Chidi Odinkalu, also lent his voice to condemn the killing of Raheem. Another activist, Rinu Oduala, slammed Nigeria Police Force for alleged coverup of the identity of the trigger-happy policeman.

    A legal practitioner and founder, Stop Abuse Foundation, Toyin Taiwo-Ojo, the killing of the female lawyer is worrisome, not only that we lost a member of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), but it is one killing too many. It has become a constant development that policemen would use the taxpayers money to kill citizens who they are paid to protect. I am advocating for mental evaluation of officers bearing arms and for a public hearing of the case. I am, also, calling for the death penalty of any police officer found guilty for using his office to wrongly kill an innocent citizen. Lastly, the enrollment for the officer should be paid to the victim’s family. With the strict punitive measures in place, it will become a deterrent to others.

    Spokesman for the Lagos State Police Command, Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed the incident and described it as “unfortunate and avoidable”, assuring the public that justice will prevail.

    “The ASP that shot and two others with him have since been taken into custody,” Hundeyin tweeted yesterday.

    “The Lagos State Police Command condoles with the family, friends and colleagues of Barrister Bolanle Raheem. The Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Command, Abiodun Alabi, has been in touch with the family and the Nigerian Bar Association since yesterday and has given firm assurances that justice will definitely prevail,” he further disclosed.

    Meanwhile, the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Usman Baba, yesterday, ordered speedy investigation and prosecution of the culprits after he condemned Raheem’s killing, describing the incident as unfortunate and sad.

    The IGP, in a statement by the Force Public Relations Officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, yesterday, said the act didn’t portray the Nigeria police standard operating procedure and core values. The IGP commiserated with the family, friends, and colleagues of the deceased and prayed for the repose of her soul and assured the general public of justice in the case, while he warned officers and men of the Force to be professional and people-oriented in the discharge of their duties.

    The Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC), in a statement issued by its Executive Director, Okechukwu Nwanguma, commended the IGP on his prompt and reassuring response to the dastardly act.

    The group stated: “We’ll keep track of police action in this tragic case.”

    (Sun)