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| Kolade Johnson (L); the killer cop, Olalekan Ogunyemi |
The Lagos State Police Command has recommended for dismissal Inspector Olalekan Ogunyemi from the Nigeria Police Force after an orderly-room trial found him guilty of unlawfully killing a football fan, Kolade Johnson, on Sunday.
However, his co-accused, Sergeant Godwin Orji, was discharged and acquitted.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Bala Elkana, said in a statement on Thursday that following his dismissal, Ogunyemi had been handed over to the Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department, Panti, for prosecution in a conventional court.
Elkana said Ogunyemi and Orji were tried on three counts bordering on discreditable conduct, unlawful and unnecessary exercise of authority, and damage to clothing and other articles contrary to the Police Act and Regulations.
He added that the adjudicating officer, CSP Indyar Apev, found Ogunyemi guilty and awarded the punishment of dismissal from service and prosecution to him, but noted that there was no evidence linking Orji to the shooting.
Elkana stated, “The two police officers alleged to have been involved in the shooting of Kolade Johnson on Sunday, March 31, 2019, were apprehended and subjected to an orderly-room trial by the command. The orderly-room trial commenced on Monday, April 1, 2019, and ended on Thursday, April 4, 2019.
“They were tried on three counts of discreditable conduct; unlawful and unnecessary exercise of authority and; damage to clothing or other articles, contrary to paragraphs E (iii), Q (ii) and D (i) of the First Schedule, Police Act and Regulations, Cap 370 LFN, 1990.
“The trial started with the reading of the charges and taking of plea. Five witnesses testified. At the conclusion of the trial, the first defendant, Inspector Olalekan Ogunyemi, 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; unlawful and unnecessary exercise of authority by using unnecessary violence through the use of an AK-47 rifle on the deceased in total neglect to the provisions of Force Order 237 on the use of firearms.”
Meanwhile, Kolade’s family members, fiance and aggrieved youths, on Thursday, took to the streets of Lagos to protest the 35-year-old’s killing.
The protest, facilitated by the Take It Back Movement, had in attendance the deceased’s elder sister, Elizabeth Hassan; fiancé, Stephanie; and some youths, who embarked on a solidarity march from the NIPOST building to the Police Force Headquarters Annex in the Obalende area of Lagos.
The leader of the group, Sanyaolu Juwon, while calling for justice, asked for the total ban of the police Special Anti-Robbery Squad and the Special Anti-Cultisim Squad, prosecution of the killers and payment of adequate compensation to the bereaved family, as well as a reform of the Nigeria Police Force.
Hassan charged the government to ensure that the case was not swept under the carpet.
When the protesters got to the Police Force Headquarters Annex at Obalende, a shouting match ensued between them and some police officers, who harassed journalists and some of the youths, who accompanied the group.
An Assistant Commissioner of Police, Bangs Gombit, while addressing the protesters, commiserated with the family and appealed for patient regarding the outcome of the case of the alleged killer cops.
