A Lagos High Court hearing at Tafawa Balewa Square yesterday postponed its decision on a no-case application made by police officer Drambi Vandi, who is accused of killing a lawyer located in Lagos, until April 3, 2023.
Vandi is facing a single-count charge of murdering Mrs. Omobolanle Raheem, a Lagos attorney, on December 25, 2022, in the Ajah neighbourhood of Lagos.
At his arraignment, the defendant entered a plea of not guilty to the accusation brought by the government of Lagos State.
Adetokunbo Odutola, the defendant’s solicitor, adopted his last written statement in a no-case submission submitted on February 28 during yesterday’s resumed hearing.
In his address, Odutola requested the court to throw out the case and exonerate the defendant.
He asserted that there was no prima facie evidence supporting the prosecution’s case against the defendant.
Odutola claimed that the ballistic testing showed that the gun and the shot bullet did not match.
The prosecution had claimed that the victim had been shot in the chest, although the pathologist who testified said the bullet entered from the left via the armpit.
The defence came to the conclusion that the prosecution could not prove any charge against the defendant despite the occurrences cited and numerous others.
But, the prosecution’s solicitor general for Lagos State, Mr. Moyosore Onigbanjo, asked the court to reject the defendant’s reasoning in his submission.
He maintained, among other things, that the evidence from the prosecution’s witnesses proved the defendant was the one who shot and murdered the victim.
According to Onigbanjo, the pathologist made it very evident that an AK-47 rifle round had an explosive force comparable to that of thousands of fire hoses.
No matter if the target was standing or sitting, it would enter the body.
The case was postponed to April 3, 2023 for a decision by presiding Judge Ibironke Harrison after hearing the arguments.
