Police arraign three dismissed officers for murder of Kwara student

The police said the officers were “found guilty of the following offences: 1. Leaving Beat, 2. Corrupt Practices, 3. Unlawful or Unnecessary exercise of authority.”

Three former police officers accused of the murder of a student in Kwara State have been arraigned in the court on charges of criminal conspiracy and culpable homicide.

The officers — two former inspectors, Abiodun Kayode and James Emmanuel — and a sergeant, Oni Philip, were dismissed following their indictment by a police investigation report.

PREMIUM TIMES earlier reported that the officers were dismissed from the force following investigations into the death of Qoyum Ishola, a student of the Kwara State Polytechnic, Ilorin.

According to a statement released by the Kwara State Police Command, Mr Ishola, the deceased, was murdered by the officers on 4 September.

The police investigation report stated that the officers were “found guilty of the following offences: 1. Leaving Beat, 2. Corrupt Practices, 3. Unlawful or Unnecessary exercise of authority.”

Following their dismissal, the suspects were arrested and arraigned in court on 16 October.

The spokesperson for Kwara Police Command, Toun Ejire-Adeyemi, said in a statement on Friday that they have been remanded in prison “pending further court proceedings.”

Cases of police brutality are not new in Kwara State, as many officers found culpable have either been dismissed or transferred elsewhere, as seen here and here.

Following the #EndSARS mass movement against police brutality in 2020, the Kwara State government set up an enquiry panel to investigate the scourge in the north-central state.

The panel said it received and treated 25 petitions. It would later submit its report to the state government, recommending that indicted officers be prosecuted and the victims be compensated.