PUNCH
There appears to be no end in sight to the highhandedness and brutality of citizens by some members of the Nigeria Police Force despite calls for its reform.
Ironically, this, among other things, was what led to the protests by youths for the disbandment of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad; a unit in the Force created to tackle robbery among other crimes.
The protesters, mainly youths , launched the #EndSARS campaign and raised five key demands which included abolition of the squad, immediate release of arrested protesters; justice for victims of police brutality, establishment of an independent body to investigate police misconduct and salary increase for cops.
On October 11, 2020, the Federal Government announced the disbandment of SARS. But there were still claims that officers of the disbanded police unit in service still patrol streets in plainclothes, extorting, arresting and torturing citizens without reason.
Two years later, extrajudicial killings have yet abated. In fact, the highhandedness and brutality of the cops have increased with families grieving over the senseless killing of their loved ones.
Saturday PUNCH chronicles 10 victims of police shootings and events leading to some of the extrajudicial killings across the country in 2022.
Bolanle Raheem
On December 25, 2022, a cop attached to the Ajah Police Station shot dead a 41-year-old pregnant lawyer, Bolanle Raheem, under the Ajah Bridge, in the presence of her husband.
Raheem, her sister, and four children were said to be coming from an eatery in their car around 11am when the cop tried to stop them. Reports noted that her husband was trying to make a U-turn under the Ajah Bridge when the trigger-happy cop shot at the vehicle.
The bullet hit her and she was confirmed dead at the hospital she was rushed to. The killer cop is an Assistant Superintendent of Police identified as Drambi Vandi.
