Justice Ibironke Harrison of the Lagos State High Court sitting at the Tafawa Balewa Square yesterday convicted and sentenced suspended Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Drambi Vand to death by hanging for the murder of Lagos-based lawyer, Mrs Omobolanle Raheem.
Justice Harrison handed down the verdict after holding that the prosecution had proven its case against the senior police officer beyond all reasonable doubt.
The judge, in the judgment that lasted for over two hours, held that it was only the convict that had the opportunity to commit the crime even though no eyewitness saw him fire the shot.
The court also held that the evidence of the 11 witnesses, who testified for the prosecution, was credible and convincing enough to convict the suspended police officer.
The judge noted that it was strange that the convict, who led the team of policemen to the checkpoint, was the only person at the scene that did not hear the loud gunshot heard by other eyewitnesses.
The judge accepted the evidence of the deceased’s sister who had held on to the convict’s shirt after the shooting, as well as bystanders who pointed at him as the shooter.
Justice Harrison also held that the convict failed to provide cogent evidence to dispel the fact that he was seen to have fled into a mini bus, where he was dragged out from and taken to the hospital the deceased was rushed to.
The court further stated that the deceased was shot at close range and hit through the back windshield.
“He (the convict) was the only armed person who could have shot from the right side as the other officer on the left wasn’t armed.
“None of the eye witnesses saw him actually shoot, but that will have been near impossible because the best a witness can do is to see him point the gun and to hear a gunshot,” she stated.
Justice Harrison, therefore, sentenced the convict to death, stating, “You are to be hung by the neck until you are dead. May God have mercy on your soul.”
The Lagos State government had arraigned Vandi before the court for allegedly shooting to death the 41-year-old pregnant lawyer at the Ajah under-bridge checkpoint on December 25, 2022.
The convict faced a one-count charge of murder contrary to Section 223 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.
