On July 15, 1981, one of the world’s fastest-rising sprinters and two-time member of the Nigerian Olympic team, Dele Ndubuisi Udo, was shot and killed at Ojuelegba, Lagos, by a policeman who was reportedly angered by the athlete’s mention of the courteous behavior of policemen in his United States of America (USA) base.
Udo, a world-class quarter miller and hurdler, was in Nigeria for a national sports assignment, to prepare for the All African Games. He never returned to his base in the USA. Dele’s demise in the hands of a jealous and trigger-happy policeman brought to the fore the callousness and murderous tendencies of some men in police uniform in Nigeria.
The repeated occurrence of the dastardly act gave the Nigeria Police, as an institution, a very terrible reputation which the authorities did very little to clean up. It became institutional because those responsible almost always got away with it or had a gentle slap on the wrist. It was often treated as a case of accidental discharge. The Police became a terror to the citizens it was meant to preserve and protect. It neither served with decorum nor with integrity. It became one of the vilest institutions in the country.
The unbecoming nature of the development and the brazenness with which citizens were being harassed regularly in their homes and on the streets, snowballed into the EndSars uprising which almost consumed the country in 2021. So when Assistant Inspector Drambi Vandi shot and killed lawyer Omobolane Raheem in Lagos on Christmas day of 2022, it generated the usual uproar, but at the same time, it was regarded as a now familiar trademark of the Nigerian Police which has grown nasty with trigger happy men in its fold.
There was apprehension though that it would be treated like past cases and Vandi must have thought he would get away with it as has been the case. It turned out to be a different ball game. On Monday, October 9, 2023, a Lagos court convicted and sentenced Drambi Vandi to death for the offence.
Omobolanle’s case, though one of many similar cases across the country, became prominent for several reasons. First, she was from an upper-middle-class family. Second, it happened in Lagos state with the highest media attention. Three, the incident got marketing mileage from the social media presence; and four, she was a lawyer so her professional constituency would not allow it to pass as another case of accidental discharge by a trigger-happy policeman. What happened to Omobolane in Lagos happens in so many parts of the country on a fairly regular basis, but by a conspiracy of these four circumstances, her matter has brought to the fore not only the tragedy of the Nigerian Police and its operational method but the fact that administration of criminal justice in Nigeria can be efficient if the prosecutors and judges want it to be. It can be faster and escalated. The speed and diligence with which Omoblanle’s case was handled signposts the fact that judges can bring forward cases faster.
Unfortunately, that has not been the case in many circumstances. Justice delayed is justice denied. It also gives impetus to indulgence by perpetrators of criminal acts. However, in this case, the police officer was immediately arrested, the matter was diligently prosecuted and judgment was promptly served. It does not matter if it goes on appeal, but the diligent prosecution, in the first instance, deserves some attention.Two things came out of the development: No police officer (or security officer for that matter) can go free after perpetuating such a heinous crime, and judges can and actually need to sit up when cases of this nature are brought before them. The matter that arises would be: What made the judicial process faster in this case that has not been making it so for others? Is it because the judge felt pressured by media attention? If that’s the case, then something is definitely wrong with the system because it is obvious that not every case can get intense social media attention. If it was because it happened to a member of the legal profession, then it is not good enough because everyone or supposed victims of criminal activities cannot all belong to that constituency. It is our advice that when the National Judicial Council (JSC) meets, it should use it as a test case, review it and make it applicable in all such cases nationwide.
The Nigerian Bar Association has already issued a statement welcoming the judgment, but it needs to go further to carry out a thorough assessment of the case and take note of the learning outcomes from the exercise. It is worth further interrogation and the valuable outcomes can be used to further push for an improved and acceptable criminal justice system in the country. Though justice has been served for the late Omobolanle and is likely to bring some relief and closure to the family, it cannot bring her back to life. So a learning outcome from the entire episode should serve as preventive measures, for the police to undertake to ensure that its officials are not mindlessly trigger-happy or have access to intoxicating substances when on duty. It serves also as a reminder to the judiciary that justice diligently served can be beneficial to society in a lot of ways.
