Court remands dismissed cop at Ikoyi prison – TheNigerialawyer

A dismissed police inspector, Ogunyemi Olalekan, was on Tuesday
at an Ikeja High Court remanded at the Ikoyi Prisons after his
arraignment for the alleged murder of Kolade Johnson, a 35-year-old
man at a viewing centre in Lagos.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Olalekan, 45, during his
arraignment pleaded not guilty to a charge of murder.

Following his plea, Mr Yhaqub Oshoala, Lagos State Director of
Public Prosecution, requested that Olalekan, who has been
incarcerated at the Ikoyi Prison since his arrest, continue to be
remanded at the facility.

“We ask that the defendant continue to be detained in prison
custody before the trial date. Our witnesses are available and we
are ready to commence,” Oshoala told the court.

Before adjourning the case, the presiding judge, Justice A. J
Coker told Mr Ike Ezekwen, the defence counsel to explain to
Olalekan the option of a bargain agreement before the trial
commences.

“This case is adjourned to January 15, 2020 for trial. The
defendant is further remanded at the Ikoyi Correctional
Facility.

“The prosecution team is enjoined to bring their witnesses to
court,” Justice Coker said.

According to the prosecution, Olalekan, a dismissed police
inspector working with Special Anti-Cultism Squad, committed the
offence at 5.10 p.m. on March 31 at Onipetesi Estate, Mangoro area
of Lagos.

“The former police inspector unlawfully killed Johnson by
shooting him with an AK47 rifle in the lower abdomen.

“The offence contravenes Section 223 of the Criminal Law of
Lagos State 2015,” Oshoala said.

NAN reports that Section 223 prescribes death sentence for
anyone convicted of the offence of murder. (NAN)

Subscribe ToNairalaw News!

The purpose of the event with theme: Timely
Recognition Averts Deformity, sub-theme: Raise Awareness to Prevent
Noma, is to scale up awareness of the disease towards preventing
the disease in the country.

In his keynote address, the Minister of Health, Dr E.
Osagie Ehanire, said that Noma disease can be reduced and even
prevented, first by promoting national awareness of the disease and
improving nutrition including promoting exclusive breastfeeding in
the first six months of a child’s life.

He added that education on prenatal care, personal
hygiene, timely immunization against common childhood diseases,
improving environmental sanitation and poverty reduction are very
key while stressing that detecting Noma early and treating it can
halt and largely reverse the devastating impacts of the
disease.

While reiterating on the need to ensure that
immunization programmes reach all segments of the population, the
Minister charged participants drawn from over ten countries from
the African region to do their best to develop best practices in
preventing, controlling and managing Noma disease.

On the part of Nigeria, Ehanire disclosed that Nigeria
has established the National NOMA Control program in collaboration
with the WHO which aims to boost awareness of NOMA, its prevention
and care.

He also informed that the Health Ministry has embarked
on a number of national trainings, step down trainings and
sensitization activities in high burden States such as: Kebbi,
Sokoto, Jigawa and Akwa Ibom, in collaboration with the National
Orientation Agency and Nigerian Centre for Disease Control, to
increase surveillance, case finding and prompt disease
reporting.

 Ehanire further announced that the Federal
Ministry of Health, in collaboration with the World Health
Organization (WHO) and other stakeholders has developed the
National NOMA policy document and the triennial NOMA control action
plan [2019-2021] which was approved in the National council on
Health in August 2019.

 Earlier, the Permanent Secretary of the
Ministry, Mr. Abdulaziz M. Abdullahi, charged participants to
commit to finding workable ways to control and possibly kick out
the gory disease in the sub region, ensuring that the Ministry
would consider the outcome of the meeting for implementation with
relevant partners.

Also speaking, the WHO, officer-in-charge Nigeria, Dr.
Clement Peter, said ‘’NOMA has disappeared in the developed world
but 140,000 still suffer from Noma every year due to poverty and
malnutrition in the African Region. He however reiterated the
commitment of WHO to partner with Nigerian Government to ensure
that Noma is a disease of the past.