body-container-line-1

Nigerian Police Officer Sacked After Football Fan's Death

By AFP
Nigeria Nigerian Police Officer Sacked After Football Fan's Death
APR 5, 2019 LISTEN

Nigerian police have dismissed one of their officers after a football fan was shot dead as he watched a match, in a case that has sparked public anger against the security services.

Kolade Johnson was watching a match involving English Premier League club Liverpool on Sunday when he was hit by a stray bullet fired by a police team on patrol.

Following public outrage, two officers were arrested and brought before an internal disciplinary hearing.

Lagos police spokesman Bala Elkana said "the first defaulter, Inspector Ogunyemi Olalekan, was found guilty of discreditable conduct... by shooting and killing Kolade Johnson".

Olalekan was dismissed and handed over to the criminal investigation department for prosecution in a conventional court, the spokesman said in a statement late Thursday.

Elkana said there was no evidence linking the other officer to the killing and he "was therefore found not guilty and discharged and acquitted".

Johnson's death sparked public outrage and renewed opposition to the police units such as the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), which have long been criticised in Nigeria.

The unit has become synonomous with brutality, extra-judicial killings, torture, extortion and impunity.

body-container-line