THE Nigeria Police Force (NPF) Public Relations Officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, has been redeployed to the Delta State Police Command as Deputy Commissioner in charge of Operations.
The Nigeria Police Force has yet to officially comment on the reasons for his redeployment, but Channels Television reported that his transfer was a strategic posting.
The ICIR also reached out to Adejobi via phone calls, SMS, and WhatsApp messages, but he neither picked up nor responded as of press time.
Adejobi, who only recently rose from Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) to DCP, has been the voice and image of the Nigeria Police Force since February 2022.
He was appointed in acting capacity after the exit of Frank Mba and was later confirmed by former Inspector General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba (Rtd).
His redeployment came on the heels of several human rights abuse allegations against him.
In February this year, a legal and human rights firm, Deji Adeyanju & Partners, petitioned the United States Embassy to impose a visa ban on him over allegations of rights abuses and suppression of free speech.
The petition accused Adejobi of using his position to justify police brutality and intimidate critics, citing cases where citizens were detained after making online remarks critical of the government or security agencies.
According to Adeyanju, a TikToker, Destiny Ekhorutomwem, was arrested for cyberbullying under Adejobi’s directive and allegedly subjected to harsh bail conditions before collapsing in custody. Other cases involved the arrest of a nurse, Olamide Thomas, and the detention of Charles Uche Ihedioha for social media posts.
Adejobi’s public remarks have also attracted controversy in the past.
The petitioner noted that in March 2023, he tweeted that ‘hurling insults at police officers carrying out their legal duty is criminal,’ a statement critics said encouraged authoritarian policing.
Similarly, in February 2024, as kidnapping cases surged nationwide, he dismissed many reports as ‘staged’ or ‘fake’, drawing backlash from families of victims and human rights advocates.
“Most of the kidnapping cases we read online are not real. They are either staged and faked. We analyse security situations based on empirical facts and figures.
“These are different concepts or crimes that we need to understand, and the psychology of the perpetrators. No sentiment, but realities. Open your mind to discussions and explanations of experts and security operatives for better understanding,” he posted.
Adejobi had served as Police Public Relations Officer in Ogun State; Zone 2 Headquarters, Lagos; and Lagos State Command.
Mustapha Usman is an investigative journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: musman@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M