Police corporal Aremu Musiliu, whose gun killed Idongesit Ekpo and left her husband, Godwin Ekpo, badly injured, has been dismissed from the police force.
However, he is still in jail pending the conclusion of investigations.
Musiliu and some other policemen attached to the Isheri Osun Police Station had mounted a checkpoint on Wednesday at the Obalagbe bus stop, Ijegun Road.
The police officers were reportedly extorting sums of money from some tricycle (Keke) operators in the area, when the victims, Mr. Godwin Ekpo and his wife, Idongesit, were returning from a church programme in their tricycle.
Godwin mistakenly brushed the police van while trying to evade them, reports say. Musiliu was alleged to have opened fire on the couple, after another policeman smashed their windscreen.
The killer cop said he had no intention of killing anyone. “It happened 12am in the night, and there were four of us on duty. We were all in uniform and the Hilux van we used was a police vehicle; we did not use any illegal bus.
“We have the instruction to arrest tricycles and motorcycles that ply our roads late in the night. And that was why we did stop-and-search by that time.
“The man had damaged our vehicle and when I asked him to stop, he continued running. I could not just leave him to run away and there was no way I could stop him. I aimed at the tyre and fired a shot, but I missed.
“The bullet hit the ground and bounced in to hit the woman and her husband. The bullet did not hit the man in the stomach, but the jaw. I did not run. The DC came to pick me around 2am at our division where I was detained.”
On Friday, Musiliu was arraigned on two counts bordering on murder and causing grievous bodily harm. The offences were said to be punishable under sections 221 and 243 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State of Nigeria, 2011.
Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Joe Offor, who confirmed the development, said the suspect’s excuses for misusing his firearm were untenable.
He said, “The orderly room trial was constituted in the early hours of Thursday and the authorities were not satisfied with the excuses he gave for the misuse of his firearms. He has been dismissed.”
Asked what would happen to the other policemen said to have been part of the incident, Offor said investigations were ongoing and other culprits would be made to face the consequences.
“It was a single bullet that killed the woman and wounded the man. There is no way eight policemen could have fired a single bullet.
“But investigations are ongoing and if there is any complicity of any other policeman, we will do the needful,” he added.
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