Drambi Vandi, a police officer, has been sentenced to death by hanging by the Lagos State High Court for the fatal shooting of Bolanle Raheem on Christmas Day in 2022.
In a verdict delivered on Monday, Judge Ibironke Harrison found the police officer guilty of murdering Lagos-based lawyer, Bolanle Raheem.
Judge Harrison declared, “The court found the defendant guilty on one count of murder. You will be hanged by the neck till you are dead.”
On Christmas Day 2022, Bolanle Raheem, who was pregnant at the time, was tragically shot and killed while she was on her way to church with her family at the Ajah roundabout in Lagos State.
Vandi, a member of the Ajiwe police division in Ajah, was suspended from duty just two days after the tragic event. The state government subsequently charged him with a single count of murder.
During the trial, which commenced in January of the same year, Vandi's husband, sister, police armorer, pathologist, and seven other witnesses testified against him. The prosecution also presented 27 exhibits as evidence.
In his defense, Vandi, as the sole witness, claimed that the bullet allegedly responsible for Raheem's death did not originate from the firearm he was carrying on the day of the incident. He further stated that he had never seen the bullet before it was presented in court.
However, Justice Harrison disregarded Vandi's defense and handed down the sentence of death by hanging.