Court extends Kolade Johnson's alleged killer's stay in prison

The Ebute-Meta Magistrates Court in Lagos has extended its remand order on dismissed police inspector, Olalekan Ogunyemi, whos charged with the extra-judicial killing of Kolade Johnson.

Johnson, a 36-year-old father of one, was killed on March 31, 2019 when officers of the Lagos State Police Command's Special Anti Cultism Squad (SACS), led by Olalekan, was attempting to arrest another man because of his dreadlocks in the Mangoro area of the state.

An Orderly Room Trial found Olalekan guilty of Johnson's murder and he was dismissed from the Force for discreditable conduct, and unlawful and unnecessary exercise of authority.

During an initial hearing on April 5, presiding magistrate, Mrs A.O. Salawu, ordered that Ogunyemi be remanded at Ikoyi Prisons pending advice from State Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

However, when the court resumed on Monday, May 6, Magistrate Salawu extended the remand order by 35 more days because the expected advice from the DPP was not yet ready.

Kolade Johnson was killed in March [Facebook/Styles Kolade Johnson] Pulse Nigeria

When he was paraded before the media last month, Ogunyemi said he never meant to kill Johnson.

According to him, he only shot once in the air after his team was mobbed while trying to arrest a suspected cultist.

He said, "We heard a distress call that we should move to Mangoro. So, on getting there, we saw a group of guys smoking Indian hemp. We thought they're cultists and effected an arrest there.

"Suddenly, they mobbed us, me and my boys. So, in terms of escaping them, I fired up.

"I didn't know how it got to meet the guy in question that was shot dead, I don't know. I only fired one up."

Contrary to Olalekan's version of events, eyewitnesses said he aimed his gun at the running crowd and fired twice, both shots hit Johnson and led to his death.