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Christopher Oji
The Inspector Ogunyemi Olalekan, who fired the shot that killed Kolade Johnson, a football fan last Sunday at Onipetesi, in Mangoro, Lagos State, has been dismissed from the police and handed over for prosecution. He was dismissed after an orderly room trial by the police while Sergeant Godwin Orji was discharged and acquitted.
The officers, who were attached to the anti-cultism unit of the Lagos State Police Command, were arrested last Sunday on the orders of the state Commissioner of Police, Zubairu Muazu, soon at the incident.
The deceased, Johnson, was allegedly shot dead at a football viewing centre at Onipetesi. The incident sparked protest as youths in the area took to the streets to protest the killing.
Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Bala Elkana, said that the command yesterday concluded orderly trial for the suspects during which Olalekan was found guilty of all the three-count charges brought against him.
Bala, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), said that the police inspector has since been handed over to the State Criminal Intelligence and Investigation Department (SCIID) for prosecution.
He said that the police officers alleged to have been involved in the shooting of Johnson on Sunday, March 31, 2019, were apprehended and subjected to internal disciplinary proceedings known as orderly room trial by the command.
“The trial started with the reading of charges and taking of plea. Five witnesses testified. At the conclusion of the trial, the first defaulter, Inspector Olalekan, was found guilty of discreditable conduct by acting in a manner prejudicial to discipline and unbecoming of members of the Force, by shooting and killing Kolade Johnson.
“The adjudicating officer, CSP Indyar Apev, awarded the punishment of dismissal from service and prosecution to the first defaulter. There was no evidence linking the second defaulter, Sergeant Godwin Orji, to the shooting. He was, therefore, found not guilty and discharged and acquitted. The first defaulter, Inspector Olalekan is handed over to SCIID, Panti, for prosecution in conventional court,” he said.
