The police witness says Drambi Vandi attempted to run inside a Korope bus before he was dragged out.
A police inspector attached to the Ajah division of Lagos State has testified in the trial of Drambi Vandi, the officer involved in the murder of Bolanle Raheem.
Ebimine Fiyegha appeared before Ibironke Harrison, the judge of the Lagos high court in Tafawa Balewa Square on Wednesday, as the second witness in the murder trial.
The witness, while narrating the incident, told the court that the defendant tried to abscond in a 'Korope' bus, when they heard the gunshot.
PREMIUM TIMES reported how Mrs Raheem, who was pregnant, was fatally shot on Christmas day by the police officer attached to the Ajiwe police division in the Ajah area of the state.
The state government had preferred a one-count charge of murder against the defendant and arraigned him for the murder of the lawyer.
Previously, Matthew Ahmed, one of the police officers deployed to Ajah underbridge on the day of the incident, had testified before the court.
Testimony
Narrating what happened on December 25, 2022, Mr Fiyegha said the defendant was the leader of the three-man patrol team that was mobilised to the Ajah underbridge.
The witness explained that himself and the defendant were both armed and that nobody's life was under threat when the incident happened, stating that before he and his colleagues left for Ajah Underbridge on the 25 December, 2022, the DPO in charge of the Ajah Division told the officers not to use their firearms unless there is a threat to life while prayers was said by another corporal before they set out.
"I was at the front at Ajah underbridge. Inspector Ahmed was in the middle about 20 metres apart. Vandi was at the back -- last person. That was how we positioned ourselves," he said.
"I was armed. Our team leader SUPOL Vandi was armed. I had eight rounds of ammunition in my rifle.
"Around 1 p.m., I saw one Toyota Venza, I saw one woman in the passenger seat and one man was driving. When I flagged it down, it did not stop. I was wondering why. The man was not speeding."
Speaking further, the police inspector said he heard the sound of gunshot immediately after the car carrying the deceased and her family passed him at the checkpoint.
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"I saw a black woman shout 'Eh!, you have killed my sister o', she was pointing to officer Vandi. That was when he ran out and entered into a Mazda vehicle known as 'Korope'. They stopped the 'Korope' and dragged him out before taking him to the Venza," he recounted.
"At that time, I was lost because I didn't understand what was going on anymore. I tried to reach him on phone to know why he was running but when he answered, he simply said I should wait before ending the call.
"On our way to the station, I called oga again and he repeated what he said earlier, that I should wait.
During cross-examination, Odutola Adetokunbo, the defendant's lawyer, asked the witness if he saw Mr Vandi when he pulled the trigger.
The officer answered, "Like I said earlier, I was backing him when I heard the sound."
"What is the distance between you and SUPOL Vandi at the Ajah Underbridge," Mr Adetokunbo asked.
"The distance between me and Inspector Ahmed was 20 metres. For me and SUPOL Vandi, it may be like 50 metres," he said.
"What side of the road was the car coming from?" Mr Adetokunbo asked.
"The car was coming from VGC facing Abraham Adesanya road," he responded.
The trial judge subsequently adjourned the case to Thursday.
