Helen Ogunwumiju

Helen Moronkeji Ogunwumiju (born 23 March, 1957) is a Nigerian jurist who has served as a Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria since 2020. She is the seventh woman to be appointed to the nation's highest court. Quotes The erroneous belief of Police officers about their immunity from prosecution and the sense of impunity has once again been shattered by the High Court of Lagos State in Bolanle Raheem’s case. The point l want to make, my Lords, is that when Police officers are prosecuted or convicted for killing innocent members of the public, such incidents are not adequately publicised. I believe that this lack of knowledge of how the legal process works is responsible for the belief of some Police officers that they can get away with killing members of the public, since they don’t see the immediate consequences of their actions. All they see is that their colleagues involved in such incidents are given Orderly Room Trials, if they are junior officers, and are dismissed by the Police. They don’t know that the legal process of prosecution and appeals inexorably continues to the highest court, especially where the defendants had been charged and sentenced to death at the trial court. Invariably by the time the cases/appeal processes come to an end, Police officers and members of the public would have forgotten the incidents. It’s only those who lost their loved ones who remember where they’ve kept track of the case. It is also important to make the point that it is not because of the public outcry over Bolanle Raheem’s case that ensured the prosecution of the Police officer, but that the law had always taken its course in most cases of such incidents. The following are a few decisions l can remember off the cuff in the last couple of years, where the Supreme Court had affirmed the conviction of Police officers who killed members of the public. There are many more of these decisions and many at different stages of trial and appeal. My point is that Policemen, at large, need to be enlightened about the consequences of their actions. Let us educate those within our sphere of influence. Hopefully, this will minimise similar incidents. External links Category:1957 births Category:Living people Category:Women born in the 1950s Category:Africa