A prosecution witness, Inspector Olumide Alagbe, told a Lagos High Court at Igbosere on Wednesday that a police officer, DSP Segun Fabunmi, charged with murder, shot 10 rounds of his AK-47 rifle at protesters.
Alagbe made the allegation while being led in evidence by the Prosecutor, Olabisi Ogungbesan of the Lagos State Directorate of Public Prosecutions.
The defendant, a former Divisional Police Officer of Pen Cinema, Agege, Lagos State, was taken to court on May 5, 2013 over alleged murder and attempted murder.
At the last hearing, a prosecuting witness, Chizorba Odoh, had told the court that the defendant shot at the crowd during the fuel subsidy protests, while they ran.
Odoh said that it was while they were running that one Adedamola Daramola was killed and three others sustained bullet wounds.
At the resumed hearing, Alagbe told the court that the AK-47 rifle used by the defendant was loaded with 60 rounds when he (the defendant) and his team were heading for Yahaya Abatan, the crime scene.
Alagbe said that he was in his office on January 9, 2012 when the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State, informed him of an incident involving a policeman who allegedly shot a man.
He said: “I and my team proceeded to the commissioner’s office where we retrieved the body of the deceased, after which the complainants and the witnesses voluntarily made statements.
“We also went to the crime scene and conducted investigations, where we discovered that 10 shots were allegedly fired from the defendant’s AK-47 rifle.”
Alagbe said that the defendant was subsequently arrested and statements were voluntarily obtained from him.
Another witness, ASP Tanimu Jeremiah, a ballistician with the Nigeria Police Force, also said that a 7.62 calibre AK-47 rifle with ID number 526309 was brought to his office for examination.
“The rifle was brought with 50 rounds of ammunition and from my investigation, I discovered that the rifle had just been used,” Jeremiah said.
According to Jeremiah, the rifle, which is a lethal weapon, comprises of two magazines with 30 rounds each.
“It has a safety valve when it is not in use and there are three stages before it could be fired,” he said.
The defence counsel, George Oguntade (SAN), argued during cross-examination that the ballistician’s investigation could not have proven the source of the rifle.
Justice Olabisi Akinlade, after listening to both sides, adjourned the case till June 2 for trial.
Fabunmi was accused of shooting to death Daramola and causing grievous bodily harm to four others during the protest against fuel subsidy removal on January 9, 2012.
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