Drambi Vandi, the police officer who pulled the trigger on the gun that killed pregnant lawyer Bolanle Raheem on Christmas Day in Lagos State’s Ajah area, was arraigned in court yesterday and remanded at the Ikoyi Correctional Centre until January 30, 2023.
Vandi was remanded in custody pending a decision from the Lagos State Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP). Miss Adeola Olatunbosun, Chief Magistrate, remanded Vandi following an application filed and argued by the Lagos State Attorney General, Mr Moyosore Onigbanjo, SAN.
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The AG’s office had filed a one-count charge dated December 30, 2022, against the defendant, with a copy of the charge reading:
“That you ASP Drambi Vandi on the 25th day of December 2022, at Ajah Road, along the Lekki Expressway, Lagos, unlawfully killed one Omobolanle Raheem by shooting the deceased in the chest contrary to Section 223 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2015.”
With the charge, the Attorney General sought the defendant’s remand under Section 264 of the Lagos Administration of Criminal Justice Law of 2015. The Attorney General told the court that the remand was necessary to allow the police to complete their investigation.
The magistrate granted the remand request and ordered that the case file be duplicated and sent to Dr Jide Martins, Director of Public Prosecutions, for legal advice. Vandi’s immediate suspension was approved by the Police Service Commission the day before his arraignment.
After the Inspector-General of Police, Usman Baba recommended that Vandi be suspended for his actions, the PSC’s spokesperson, Ikechukwu Ani, confirmed the development in a statement.
“The commission, in a letter to the Inspector-General of Police signed by the acting chairperson, Clara 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,” Ani said.
On Thursday, Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu stated that there would be no cover-up in the investigation and prosecution of the perpetrator. Vandi shot at Raheem’s vehicle while her husband was attempting to make a U–turn under the Ajah Bridge in Lagos, killing her in cold blood. Bolanle Raheem was pregnant with twins!
Speaking about the incident, the deceased husband Gbenga Raheem said, “On December 25, my wife, nieces, nephews, and cousins, who had come for the holiday, all went to church. On our way back, my wife said since it was Christmas Day, we should take everyone out, so we went to a supermarket at Abraham Adesanya, and then to Domino’s Pizza.
“After that, we headed towards Ajah to do a U-turn to come back to Abraham Adesanya. When we took the U-turn, we saw policemen stopping some vehicles.
“As we approached them, they said we should stop, and in the process, we heard a loud sound on my wife’s side window. All of a sudden, I saw blood gushing out of her chest.
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“I immediately ran out; my sister-in-law, who was also with us, ran out and held the policeman. He cocked his gun at her too. Talking to him was pointless, so I went to see if anything could be done.
“I saw my wife gasping for breath, and by that time, my sister-in-law had brought the policeman into the car and pushed him into the front seat. We drove to a hospital but they said they couldn’t handle it.
“We eventually took her to Grandville Hospital, where she was confirmed dead. The policemen took her body and put it in the truck; they wanted me to follow them but I said I needed to go and settle my children.”
