President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered the police to take the strongest possible action against the officer who shot a female lawyer, Bolanle Raheem on Christmas Day.
Buhari, in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu said he was deeply shocked and saddened to learn of the killing.
The President also directed law enforcement agencies, including the Police, to ensure the full implementation of reforms instituted by the administration on the subject of weapons handling as well as the protection of the rights of citizens.
Earlier, Raheem’s widower shared a full account of how his wife was shot by an Assistant Suprintendent of Police identified as Drambi Vandi.
The victim’s husband, Gbenga, 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, 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.
“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.”
