Ex-police officer who killed Kolade Johnson sentenced to life imprisonment

A Lagos high court in Ikeja has sentenced Olalekan Ogunyemi, a dismissed police officer, to life imprisonment for killing Kolade Johnson.

Johnson was shot during a raid by police officers at Onipetesi 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.

Delivering judgment on Thursday, Adenike Coker, the judge, found the defendant guilty of killing Johnson and sentenced him to life imprisonment.

However, the judge held that the convict will be eligible for parole after serving a minimum of 25 years in prison.

Although the former police inspector was originally charged with murder, the court found him guilty of manslaughter sake of lack of intention to kill the victim.

During trial, the prosecution called seven witnesses, while the defence called two witnesses.

Oluwaseun Williams, a pathologist who testified as the sixth witness, said 35-year-old Johnson suffered six gunshot injuries.

In June 2021, the Lagos judicial panel set up to address cases on police brutality after the EndSARS protest, awarded the sum of N10 million to Johnson’s family.