Christmas Day, December 25, 2022 was a Sunday. It was supposed to be double celebration for Christians who would be celebrating the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ and also observing their day of worship. But for the family of Bolanle Raheem, on that day, there was nothing to celebrate.
Raheem, a lawyer, was said coming from an eatery in their car around 11 am when a policeman tried to stop them. Other accounts say that Raheem and her family members were on their way back home from a Christmas Day church service.
Both sets of accounts agree that she was shot when the car she was in tried to make a U-turn under the Ajah Bridge in Lagos.
The news about the death of Raheem hit social media and quickly became viral news. Raheem was pregnant when she was shot.
The next day, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) for the Lagos State police command, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, was on Twitter (now called X), to confirm the incident and assured the public that “justice will prevail.”
“The ASP that shot and two others with him have since been taken into custody,” Hundeyin posted on his Twitter account.
He added: “The Lagos State Police Command condoles with the family, friends and colleagues of Barrister Bolanle Raheem. The Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Command, CP 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.”
National Publicity Secretary of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Akorede Lawal wrote on his Twitter (now X) account: “We are aware of this unfortunate incident. This is yet another crime against a lawyer. Regrettably, our member is gone. The NBA President @YCMaikyauSAN is right on this and we shall ensure that justice is duly served.”
Raheem was a property lawyer and a member of the NBA, Lagos chapter.
A Christian, born May 29, she was married to Gbenga Raheem, and they had children together.
The case goes to court
ASP Drambi Vandi was identified as the trigger-happy cop in this case.
Vandi was arraigned before a Lagos High Court at the Tafawa Balewa Square on Monday, January 16, 2023. The court was presided over by Justice Ibironke Harrison. A one-count charge of murder was preferred on him.
Earlier, the then Inspector General of Police (IGP), Usman Alkali Baba, had recommended Vandi for suspension on December 28.
According to Baba, the suspension was to create an enabling environment for necessary legal procedures to uphold justice in the case without interference.
A police inspector, Matthew Ahmen, who was a colleague of ASP Drambi Vandi, the police officer who allegedly killed a lawyer, Mobolanle Raheem, on Monday, told a Lagos State High Court that the Ajah Divisional Police Officer warned them against shooting any civilian.
He said, “The DPO told us that on no account should anyone use firearms, except someone was in danger or our lives were being threatened.”
According to him, there were three officers posted to Ajah under bridge and Vandi was the leader of the team.
According to the prosecution, the offence contravened Section 223 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2015.
Vandi pleaded not guilty to the charge.
The NBA president, Mr Yakubu Maikyau, and some of his members were present on that day in the court.
Maikyau said he and his team were in the court to demonstrate their commitment to pursue the case to its logical conclusion.
“Never again will matters like this be swept under the carpet under our watch; we would not let it happen,” he added.
There was no allegation by the Lagos Police command that the victim provoked her killer.
The prosecution team, led by a former attorney general and Commissioner for Justice, Moyosore Onigbanjo, called 11 witnesses, including eight police officers.
The prosecution closed its case on February 25.
On February 28, the defendant, through his counsel, Gbenro Gbadamosi, applied, praying for the court to quash the charge against him.
On April 3, the court, however, dismissed the no-case submission.
Justice Harrison held that the prosecution established sufficient oral and documentary evidence linking the defendant to the alleged crime, which required an explanation from him.
On May 31, the defendant gave evidence as the only witness for the defence and closed his case.
Judgment date was initially set for July 13 after counsel adopted the case’s final written addresses.
However, on Monday, October 9, Vandi was found guilty and sentenced to death by hanging for the crime.
Justice served?
The nine-month time period from when Vandi was arraigned in court till Monday’s judgment can be seen as a speedy dispatch of justice in a judicial system where cases of this nature can drag for years.
Nigerian Tribune spoke to some lawyers who shared their opinions about the matter.
Speaking on the speed at which the case was concluded, Akinyemi Oshuntoye, a legal practitioner who practises from Ibadan, said: “Sometimes trials can be fast when the prosecution is very ready – they have assembled all their facts, witnesses and done everything they are supposed to do before coming trial. And on the other hand, the defence is not up to any pranks to try to delay or slow down the trial. When these two factors are in place, the trial may be quick.”
He noted that the fact that the victim was a lawyer in itself did not hasten the pace of the trial.
He said, “There have been other trials in Nigeria that have been quite fast,” adding that “because we have a not so good reputation that trials drag, that is why we are thinking that this one was fast. But there are other trials even within the Ibadan jurisdiction I have heard of in our High Courts. The trial of the staff of the ministry of Justice who allegedly killed her husband in Ibadan was fast. Perhaps that was because it was the chief justice that handled it and he did not want any antics either from the prosecution or the defence.
“So it was not because Bolanle Raheem was a lawyer that made it fast.”
He mentioned the trial of Chidinma Ojukwu, the alleged killer of Chief Executive Officer of Super TV, Usifo Ataga, which has been stalled, adding that “it should not ordinarily be like that, but one way or the other, some trials are fast and others are not!”
Olasupo Bada of Ola Bada & Co, a legal practitioner and notary public agrees with his learned colleague. He said, “It has nothing to do with the fact that she was a lawyer. This was a criminal trial. Criminal trials do not take time. Do not forget that it was only a one-count charge of murder. There was only one accused person. Usually there are many factors responsible for delays – some of them are procedural. For example, where you have two or three defendants, you are likely going to have two or three lawyers. On a particular day, a lawyer may not come. And because of that the trial will be delayed.
“So, this was not because the victim was a lawyer or that social media played any role. You will discover that after the initial noise, it was not until the judgment came out that people remembered. People had moved on. There was no eye on the judiciary when the matter was decided.”
End of the matter?
Speaking on the possibility of the case going to an appeal court, Oshuntoye noted that: “In most cases when the convict has been sentenced to death such as in this case, the defence usually goes on appeal.”
He added that, “It does not mean the appeal is automatic on its own. But it is the constitutional right of the defendant who has been convicted to appeal.”
Bada, on his part, said, “I am making this comment carefully because I am not aware of any pending appeal. But I am aware that a judgment has just been delivered and the convict is still within time to appeal. He has three months to file an appeal. And he may want to test whether the law has been properly applied to the facts of the case for him to be sentenced to death. It is his right to file an appeal.”
An end to extrajudicial killings?
For a fact, extrajudicial killings occur on a daily basis in Nigeria. They often go unreported.
When asked if the recent conviction would do anything to curb extrajudicial killings in Nigeria, Oshuntoye said, “I don’t think so. The attitude of some of the people who have been authorised to carry weapons is not a positive attitude. They have tendencies to use these arms in a wrong manner that results in the kind of unfortunate situations like we had with Bolanle Raheem.
“There are so many people who have been authorised by law to carry guns, but you cannot really vouch for these individuals. It is cases like that of Bolanle Raheem that get a lot of public attention that are resolved. There are a lot still happening that does not get to the public.”
However, Bada, in his opinion said the case should help curb the spate of extrajudicial killings.
“It will go a long way in reducing extrajudicial killings so that law enforcement agents will know that they have a social contract to secure lives and not kill innocent people.
“I think it will help the rank and file realise that they should not misuse the arms they carry. If you go beyond the boundaries of the law, you are on your own. You will see that the state will not come to your rescue. It is a different case if it is done in self-defence,” he noted.
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