A reputable non-governmental organisation, Women Aid Collective (WACOL) has condemned the killing of Barr. Omobolanle Raheem by a happy-trigger policeman, ASP Drambi Vandi.
This condemnation was made in a statement signed Wednesday by the Executive Director of WACOL, Prof. Joy Ezeilo and issued to journalists in Enugu.
Ezeilo, while calling on the federal government, the Nigeria Bar Association, the Nigerian Police Force, and the judiciary to as a matter of urgency bring to justice ASP Drambi Vandi and all his accomplices, said the act was “inhumane, wicked, absurd, ridiculous, and barbaric.”
“Women Aid Collective (WACOL), a reputable Non-Governmental Organisation with observer status with the United Nations, has condemned in strong terms the killing of Mrs. Omobolanle Raheem, a pregnant mother, and lawyer by a trigger-happy Assistant Superintendent of Police, Drambi Vandi, who is attached to Ajiwe Police Station, Ajah, Lagos State.
“This unfortunate incident is coming barely two years after the END SARS saga that brought to light the despicable acts and atrocities of some members of the Nigerian Police Force who have turned from protecting the lives of the citizenry to taking the same arbitrarily, and barely after a week Gafaru Buraimoh, a resident of Happy Land Estate in Ajah was killed by a stray bullet from a trigger happy inspector attached to the same division of the Nigeria Police force.
“Section 33(1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (CFRN), 1999, provides that “every person has a right to life, and no one shall be deprived intentionally of his life, save in execution of the sentence of a court in respect of a criminal offense of which he has been found guilty in Nigeria”. We make bold to say that this noble provision of our Constitution has been abused time and time again, and this is the time to take action.
“The death of Omobolanle Raheem must not be swept under the carpet like the rest. The right to life of a Nigerian citizen must not be left in the hands of the police or any other individual who feels that his neighbor is unfit to live unless we are breeding a chaotic society which would in turn haunt all of us.
“How can we possibly explain that a trained policeman pulled the trigger at a vehicle with unarmed women and children on Christmas day? This is inhumane, wicked, absurd, ridiculous, and barbaric. It is a crime against humanity, and we must hold someone to account.”
