Drambi Vandi, a policeman and suspected killer of Bolanle Raheem, a lawyer, has pleaded not guilty in court.
Vandi was arraigned on one count of murder before the Lagos State High Court, Tafawa Balewa Square annex, on Monday.
According to The Cable, he pleaded not guilty to the murder after the charge sheet was read to him.
Moyosore Onigbanjo, the Attorney-General of Lagos State, had said that the murder trial of Vandi, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), would commence on Monday morning.
Onigbanjo, in a statement issued on Sunday evening, said the trial would commence at the Lagos State High Court sitting at Tafawa Balewa Square and would be presided over by Justice I.O. Harrison.
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His statement read in part, “The trial of ASP Vandi, who allegedly killed Raheem on December 25, 2022, along Ajah Expressway, will commence before Justice I.O. Harrison at a Lagos high court sitting at Tafawa Balewa Square.”
Vandi first appeared before C.A. Adedayo, a chief magistrate, on December 30, 2022, a day after the Police Service Commission (PSC) approved his suspension.
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Adedayo ordered that he be remanded at the Ikoyi custodial facility pending advice of the Lagos State Director of Public Prosecutions.
FIJ earlier reported how Vandi shot Raheem on December 25 in theAjah area of Lagos.
Ojukwu is a reporter with FIJ in partnership with Report for the World, which matches local newsrooms with talented emerging journalists to report on under-covered issues around the globe.
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