A lawyer, Omobolanle Raheem, was shot dead by a police officer in Lagos on Christmas day.

The incident took place at Ajah Under Bridge area of Lagos on Sunday.

The officer, identified only as an assistant superintendent of police, is attached to the Ajiwe police division in the area.

Earlier in the month, one Gafaru Buraimoh was also shot dead by a yet-to-be-identified officer from the same division.

Mrs Raheem, also a real estate expert, on the day of the incident had posted on Instagram a ‘Merry Christmas’ wish to her followers.

According to Punch newspaper, Mrs Raheem, her sister, and four children were coming from an eatery in their car around 11 a.m. when the officers tried to stop them.

A source who spoke to the newspaper said the woman was trying to make a U-turn under the Ajah Bridge when the police shot at her vehicle.

Police react

Benjamin Hundeyin, the Lagos police spokesperson, told PREMIUM TIMES on Monday that the officer who shot the lawyer alongside his two colleagues at the scene of the incident have been taken into custody.

He said that the deceased was “rushed” to the hospital where she eventually died.

He did not mention the name of the officer.

Mr Hundeyin also said that when the first incident occurred on 7 December, the commissioner of police, Abiodun Alabi, “changed the DPO after the incident.”

On his Twitter handle on Sunday, Mr Hundeyin described the incident as “unfortunate and avoidable.”

“The ASP that shot and two others with him have since been taken into custody,” he tweeted.

“They are to be moved to the SCID for further investigation.”

News of extrajudicial killings by police officers is not uncommon. In what was described as an accident by the police, officers shot at a guest at a birthday party in April.

In September 2021, a teenager, Monsurat Ojuade, was shot by a police officer in the Surulere area of the state.