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Police officer to die by hanging for killing Lagos lawyer

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The Lagos State High Court sitting at Tafawa Balewa Square has sentenced ASP Drambi Vandi, the police officer who killed a lawyer, Bolanle Raheem, to death by hanging.

The presiding judge, Justice Ibironke Harrison, while delivering judgement on Monday, October 9, 2023, convicted Vandi of a one-count charge of murder.

“The court finds the defendant guilty on one count of murder. You will be hanged by the neck till you are dead,” the judge held.

While delivering judgment, Justice Harrison said that none of the eyewitness actually saw the defendant pull the trigger.

She, however, held that circumstantial evidence was overwhelming to prove that Vandi murdered Raheem.

According to the judge, a defendant can be convicted when circumstantial evidence is overwhelming.

The judge said: “The question in the mind of the court is: Did the prosecution provide any additional evidence?

“The court finds that the ammunition of the other officers who were on patrol with the defendant remained intact but two of the defendant’s ammunition were missing.”

Harrison said that the defendant had alleged that the shortfall in his ammunition was because it was counted in his absence.

The judge also noted that Vandi testified that the bullet tendered in court was not his, saying, however, that Vandi constituted himself as a ballistician pathologist without tendering a certificate to that effect.

She, therefore, dismissed the evidence.

“The court finds that the forensic expert and the medical doctor’s evidence confirm the circumstantial evidence that the defendant had the opportunity to shoot the victim and that the victim was shot and died from the gunshot.

“Every eyewitness heard the loud noise and passers-by shouted in Yoruba Language (oti pa eyan) meaning: you have killed someone,” she said.

Harrison held that the prosecution proved its case beyond every reasonable doubt that it was the convict who shot the gun that killed the deceased.

“The death of the deceased was instantaneous. There is no other explanation, it was the gunshot that shattered the side glass and pierced the victim’s chest.

“It was the defendant who had an AK-47 riffle whose ammunition was missing after the armourer counted it,” she held.

She also held that the defendant did not say that he pointed the gun to force or scare people in the vehicle to obey order and park the vehicle.

She added that the defendant did not say that the shooting was accidental which would have earned him a smaller sentence of manslaughter.

“Therefore, the defendant is found guilty of the one count charge and sentenced to death by hanging until he dies,” she held.

The court had, in July 2023, fixed today to deliver judgement after the adoption of final written addresses by parties in the suit.

Vandi was arraigned on January 16 on a count charge of murder but he pleaded not guilty.

The Lagos State Government alleged that the police officer shot the lawyer in the chest at Ajah Roundabout on the Lekki expressway in Lagos State on December 25, 2022.

It stated that the murder contravenes Section 223 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.

A police Inspector, Matthew Ameh, who was a colleague of Vandi, had told the court how the policeman shot the deceased on Christmas Day.

Ameh told the court that on December 25, 2022, he was posted to Ajah Under Bridge with the defendant (Vandi) and another officer, Inspector Dimini.

Ameh, who said he had been working with the police since 2001, stated that he worked at the Lagos State Police Command and was attached to the Ajah Division.

The witness disclosed that the Divisional Police Officer had instructed them to go and protect lives and property, adding that their duty on December 25, at Ajah Under Bridge, was to conduct a stop-and-search operation.

He said: “We were armed while conducting our duty but we were instructed not to use our arms unless someone’s life or our lives were in danger.

“As we were at our duty post, Insp Dimini was in front, I was in the middle while Vandi was behind me.

“There was a Toyota car with no number plate which Inspector Dimini tried to flag down but it didn’t stop. I also flagged it down, it didn’t stop. The next thing I heard was a gunshot.

“I looked back and saw the screen of the car falling down. The next thing: a dark woman jumped down from the vehicle, held the defendant, shouting oga you have killed my sister.”

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General News

Clergy Urged To Put Members’ Welfare Above All Else

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Anglican Church logo

At a solemn ordination service in Abuja, senior church leaders have called on pastors to make the well-being of their congregations a top priority, following the example of Jesus Christ.

Speaking during the priesthood ordination and installation of a Sub Dean at the Cathedral Church of Advent, Life Camp, Abuja, the retired Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Okene, Rt. Rev. Emmanuel Ajulo, described pastors as shepherds charged with the care of their flock. He urged them to shun worldly distractions and focus on meeting the spiritual and material needs of their members.

Bishop Ajulo also encouraged the newly ordained priests to remain faithful to their calling by teaching God’s word without compromise.

In his charge, the Primate of the Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, Most Rev. Henry Ndukuba, urged the new clergy to preach the undiluted gospel and foster religious harmony wherever they serve. He expressed confidence that their new roles would help promote peace and unity in society.

The service also featured prayers for national leaders and divine intervention in addressing the current global economic challenges.

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1,000 Prayer Warriors Storm Ilorin for Tinubu, Nation’s Deliverance

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President Bola Ahmed Tinubu

In a dramatic show of faith and patriotism, over 1,000 fiery prayer warriors from across Nigeria will descend on Ilorin, Kwara State, this Saturday, lifting their voices in intense intercession for President Bola Tinubu’s success and Nigeria’s survival in the face of biting economic woes and mounting insecurity.

The spiritual siege, themed “Walking in Domini”, is the maiden convention of the Organisation of African Instituted Churches (OAIC), with its Kwara State Chairman, Evangelist Thomas Adeboye, vowing that “heaven will hear and respond to Nigeria’s cry.”

Aside from marathon prayers, the gathering will roll out free medical outreach to locals across Kwara’s LGAs, a gesture aimed at touching both body and soul.

Adeboye, lamenting Nigeria’s “troubling economic and security realities”, called for a nationwide prayer uprising, insisting that Tinubu has shown the will to revive the nation but needs massive divine backing to succeed.

“Banditry, a collapsing economy, and political tension demand we seek God’s face like never before,” he declared. “We will storm heaven for wisdom for the President and governors to steer Nigeria to safety.”

The convention will also feature awards to distinguished personalities, soul-lifting worship, fiery sermons, and unity-driven lectures—all capped with thunderous prayers for Nigeria’s redemption.

Adeboye urged the President to ensure every policy has “a human face,” stressing that Nigerians must not only endure but also enjoy the fruits of governance.

With the OAIC promising to reaffirm believers’ authority in Christ and rally spiritual boldness in the face of national challenges, Ilorin is set to become the epicentre of a powerful spiritual warfare for Nigeria’s destiny.

 

 

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Nigerian Anglicans Condemn Lesbian Archbishop of Wales, Deepening Global Anglican Rift

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…Church leaders accuse Welsh counterparts of “spiritual decadence” and “abandonment of faith”

The Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) has issued a forceful condemnation of the election of Rt. Rev. Cherry Vann, an openly lesbian cleric, as the Archbishop of Wales. The move is the latest in a series of developments that have deepened divisions within the global Anglican Communion over sexuality and doctrine.

In a statement from Primate The Most Rev’d Henry Ndukuba, the church denounced the election as a “serious departure from biblical teaching” and a sign of “spiritual decadence” and “an outright abandonment of the faith once delivered to the saints.”

Archbishop Ndukuba warned that Bishop Vann’s elevation compromises the Anglican Church’s global mission and could obstruct evangelism. He compared the situation to the controversial tenure of Most Rev. Katherine Jefferts Schori, former Presiding Bishop of the U.S. Episcopal Church, who also faced intense criticism from conservative Anglicans for her progressive views.

The Primate accused Bishop Vann of being complicit in the “ongoing crisis” around same-sex issues, stating that the election is a “clear revelation that many who claim to be members of the body of Christ cannot endure sound doctrine” (2 Timothy 4:3–4).

The Church of Nigeria called on Anglicans worldwide to reject “rebels” and “apostates” and to instead support conservative bodies like the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON).

“The Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) condemns, unequivocally rejects, and will not recognize the election of Rt. Rev. Cherry Vann as Archbishop of Wales,” Ndukuba declared. He concluded with a solemn warning that without repentance, the Church in Wales risks losing “complete relevance” and its leaders will face judgment.

 

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