A dismissed police officer, Olalekan Ogunyemi, has been sentenced to life imprisonment by a Lagos High Court, Ikeja, for killing a football fan, Kolade Johnson.
Ogunyemi, who was attached to the Special Anti-Cultism Squad of the Nigeria Police, shot Johnson in the lower abdomen on March 31, 2019, at a viewing centre at Mangoro, Ikeja, Lagos.
The victim was watching a football match between Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur when he was shot by the convict.
Justice Adenike Coker found the defendant guilty of the charge and accordingly sentenced him to life imprisonment with the caveat of serving a minimum of 25 years’ imprisonment.
At the resumed hearing of the matter on Thursday, the Lagos State prosecution counsel, Jubril Kareem, announced his appearance, while Abayomi Omotubora appeared for the defence.
The judge also sentenced the dismissed policeman to life imprisonment for manslaughter.
Olalekan was originally charged with murder but the court found him guilty of manslaughter.
During trial, the prosecution called seven witnesses, while the defence called two witnesses.
At trial, a pathologist, Dr Oluwaseun Williams, testified that Johnson, 35, suffered six gunshot injuries.
TheNewsGuru.com recalls that sometime last year, the Lagos judicial panel awarded the sum of N10 million to the family of late Kolade Johnson.
During the trial, Johnson was said to have been shot during a raid by police officers at Onipetesi area in Lagos, while watching an English premiership match between Tottenham and Manchester United on March 31, 2019.
The incident sparked outrage on social media, after which the police authorities identified Ogunyemi Olalekan, a police inspector, and Godwin Orji, a sergeant, as the officers involved in the shooting.
Following an orderly trial, Olalekan was dismissed from the force after he was found guilty, while Orji was acquitted.
Doris Okuwobi, chairman of the Lagos panel, announced the compensation at the sitting on Friday.
The award sum was received by the mother of the deceased.
Thirteen petitioners, including Johnson’s family, were compensated with a total of N83 million at the sitting on Friday.