The Lagos High Court, Ikeja, has sentenced a Nigerian police officer, Olalekan Ogunyemi, to life imprisonment for killing a football fan, Kolade Johnson.

Newsmen had reported that Ogunyemi, who was attached to the Special Anti-Cultism Squad, shot Johnson in the lower abdomen on March 31, 2019, at a viewing centre at Mangoro, Ikeja, Lagos.

It reported that the victim was watching a football match between Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur when he was shot by the convict for committing no crime.

However, following outrage from Nigerians, the convict was arrested and subsequently dismissed from the Police Force.

He was also arraigned for murder in charge No: ID/9776C/2019 between the State of Lagos vs Ogunyemi Olalekan in 2019.

Delivering judgment on Thursday, trial judge, Justice Adenike Coker found the defendant guilty of the charge and accordingly sentenced him to life imprisonment with the caveat of serving a minimum of 25 years imprisonment.

The PUNCH reports that at the resumed hearing of the matter on Thursday, the Lagos State prosecution counsel, Jubril Kareem, announced his appearance, while Abayomi Omotubora appeared for the defence.

The judge also sentenced the dismissed policeman to life imprisonment for manslaughter.

Olalekan was originally charged with murder but the court found him guilty of manslaughter.

During the trial, the prosecution called seven witnesses, while the defence called two witnesses

At trial, a pathologist, Dr Oluwaseun Williams, testified that Johnson, 35, suffered six gunshot injuries.