Condemnations and indignation against the Nigeria Police Force have continued over one of its men’s cruel killing of a lawyer, Omobolanle Raheem. The policeman is reportedly attached to Ajiwe station, Ajah area of Lagos state, Theliberationnews reports.
The unfortunate but avoidable incident happened on Christmas Day at Ajah Under bridge when Raheem and her family were returning from Christmas day service. The female lawyer was gruesomely murdered by the heartless policeman in the presence of her husband and kids.
The news was broken by her family who made frantic efforts to escalate issue to prevent the police, as usual, from changing the narrative to suit their whims.
As gathered by Theliberationnews, the deceased husband was the one driving the car while she sat beside him in the front seat.
The officer had asked them to park and while they were waiting for the vehicle in front of their car to move to enable them to park, the police officer fired at her at close range hitting her chest.
On seeing what happened, the remaining police officers on duty at the spot took to their heels.
It was learnt that after a while, some policemen came and moved her body to the mortuary in Yaba, without obtaining the consent from her family members.
Reacting to the ugly incident, a human rights activist Barrister Ogun linked the act to the consistent hatred for lawyers by the police.
Taking to his Facebook page, Ogun said “Lawyer Omobolanle Raheem was fatally shot dead yesterday by men of the Nigerian Police attached to Ajiwe Police Station, Ajah, Lagos.
He added, “One death, too many. These evil and despicable men in uniform are getting emboldened with their reckless lawlessness. And lawyers are always targeted.
“This unfortunate incident is not unprecedented. The police have shown consistent contempt and hatred for lawyers, over the years.
“The legal profession must rise in unison to avert this perilous precedent. There must be consequences for impunity and justice must be served.”
Also reacting, Inibehe Effiong, condemned the gruesome killing of the lawyer.
“A lawyer, Bolanle Raheem, is reported to have been shot and murdered at close range on Christmas Day by a rogue policeman attached to Ajiwe Police Division, Ajah. This is barbaric,” he said.
He added, “It is a sad commentary that despite EndSARS, Nigerians are still being slaughtered by the police.”
Commenting on efforts of the president of Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Yakubu Maikyau SAN, a lawyer, Sir Augustine E. Ibolo, said: “Mr. YC Maikyau, SAN, the President of the Nigerian Bar Association is presently on the matter and we sincerely commend Mr President and all his Excos for the prompt response and a good job.
“The matter is currently streaming across most legal platforms and we commend KUBWA EXPRESS for a job well done.
“This is one death too many and we cannot continue to watch and see our colleagues die at the hands of these blood thirsty individuals who ought not to even be a part of the security architecture of the Nigeria Police in the very first place.
The Lagos state Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, also confirmed the incident, adding that the officer, an Assistant Superintendent of Police(ASP) and two others were in custody.
He said, “The officer involved in the shooting is an ASP; he has been arrested, detained, and will be transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department, Panti, for further investigations.
Ajiwe Police station has become infamous for such act as this will be the second time in December that one of the men attached to the station will needlessly, callously and unjustifiably cut short a civilian’s life. The other victim was Gafaru Buraimoh and the incident happened on 7th Wednesday, December 2022.
Omobolanle Raheem was until her untimely death in the hands of the trigger-happy trigger policeman was lead consultant at Croston Homes Consulting, a property consulting firm.
The Nigerian Bar Association(NBA) and the Inspector-General of Police, Usman Baba, have been urged by well-meaning Nigerians to see to a logical conclusion this one but too many killings by overzealous policemen in our midst. These Nigerians singled out the Inspector General of Police who has, so far, shown appreciative resolve to rid the police force of bad eggs that were brought to his attention. This last killing of Raheem should not be an exception.
