At a Lagos High Court sitting at Tafawa Balewa Square, Drambi Vandi, the policeman accused of killing a Lagos-based attorney, Omobolanle Raheem, on Christmas Day last year, has began to be arraigned.
Vandi appeared before Justice Ibironke Harrison and was charged with murder on a single count. To the charge, he entered a not guilty plea.
The absence of a lawyer to represent Vandi in court initially caused the arraignment, which was scheduled for 9am, to be postponed.
When the matter was called, Moyo Onigbanjo, SAN, the Lagos State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, who is in charge of the prosecution, informed the court that he had been told the defense attorney was still on the way.
In order to accommodate him showing up, the case was adjourned while he was late. Adetokunbo Odutola, a representative for Vandi, is now in place.
Yakubu Maikyau, Senior Advocate of Nigeria and President of the Bar, Ikechukwu Uwanna, Chairman of the NBA’s Lagos Branch, and other NBA leaders were also present in court to observe proceedings as part of the association’s commitment to ensuring justice in the case.
On Christmas Day, Bolanle Raheem was allegedly shot by Vandi, an Assistant Superintendent working at the Ajiwe Police Station in Ajah, Lagos State, as she was returning from an outing with her family. As of the publication of this report, a police officer has testified as the prosecution’s first witness.