The Lagos State Police Command has arrested four policemen alleged to have shot dead two armed robbery suspects at Ojo, Lagos.
The policemen are currently facing an orderly room trial at the Provost department, at the Command Headquarters, Ikeja, for extra-judicial killing.
The four policemen – Inspector Fabiyi Omomayara, Sergeant Olaniyi Solomon, Sergeant Solomon Sunday and Corporal Aliyu Mukaila – attached to the Iba Division patrol team, were alleged to have shot dead the two suspects who were in their custody.
Daily Trust reports that a video of the policemen showing them shooting the unarmed suspects had gone viral on the social media.
The Lagos state Police spokesman, Bala Elkana, who confirmed the command’s action on the matter, said that the four officers would be charged for extra-judicial killings.
In a statement he issued today, Elkana, said, “The attention of the Lagos State Police Command was drawn to a video on social media showing some police officers shooting two unarmed suspects who were arrested and already in their custody, against the code of professional conduct and laws guiding how suspects in police custody should be treated.
“The incident happened on August 19, 2019 at about 3pm when the Iba police station received a distress call from one Anugu Valentine, that he was attacked by a group of armed men numbering about four on two motorcycles at the Ipayi area, Iba, and that they dispossessed him of one iPhone Max valued at N450,000.
“Acting on the information, the Divisional Police Officer, Iba, promptly deployed the Divisional patrol team to the scene. Two of the armed robbers were arrested, while two escaped.
“Two locally made pistols, with six live cartridges and five expended cartridges, were recovered. The gang is said to be notorious for series of robberies in Iba and its environs.
“It was a well-celebrated operation by the team, as the suspects were gallantly arrested.
“The team, however, went extreme by killing the suspects who were already in their custody, instead of taking them to the police station and allowing the normal process of investigation and prosecution to be initiated as stipulated under procedural laws.
“That act of extra-judicial killings falls short of police professional standards and cannot be condoned by the Command.
“The Commissioner of Police, Lagos State, Zubairu Muazu, has ordered a thorough investigation into the incident. The police officers are being subjected to internal disciplinary proceedings, known as Orderly Room trial and, if found culpable, they will be dismissed from the Force and handed over to the State Criminal Investigation Department, Yaba, for prosecution in the conventional court.
“Members of the public will be updated on the outcome of the investigation and trial.”
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