Bolanle Raheem: Reps make crucial demand  

 

The House of Representatives has called for a ban on police officers from consuming alcohol and other hard substances capable of inhibiting their sense of reasoning.

The lawmakers also condemned the killing of a member of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Bolanle Raheem, who was shot in Lagos by a police officer on Christmas Day.

This resolution was a sequel to the adoption of a motion of Urgent Public Importance raised by Babajide Obanikoro (APC-Lagos) at plenary on Wednesday in Abuja.

Moving the motion, Obanikoro lamented that on the fateful day, without any altercation, one of the officers shot Mrs. Raheem who was seven months pregnant with twins, on the spot.

He recalled that a similar incident happened on 7 December by officers from the same police station who gunned down a young man, which sparked unrest.

He expressed worry that such type of occurrence happened often across Nigeria, and the officers usually got away with killing innocent citizens they swore to protect.

The legislators also demanded a thorough investigation into the killing and other incidences of extrajudicial murders committed by police officers.

Adopting the motion, the lawmakers further agreed that the Nigerian Police Act on the general conduct of officers should be reviewed. (NAN)