THE Rivers State Police Command has commenced an investigation into the alleged assault and brutality of a traveller in a viral video by its officers.
On Friday, September 1, a video went viral on social media, wherein a woman is heard shouting at some armed policemen along a highway, accusing them of inflicting injury on her sister.
The ICIR observed at least four armed officers in the one-minute, three-second clip at the incident scene.
“This is the Nigerian Police. Look at my sister’s mouth,” the woman said. “Policemen gave my sister Beta injury, and you are here making a video of me. After giving my sister an injury, did you see anything in my sister’s bag? Never,” added the woman.
Although the video didn’t show when the officers inflicted the injury on her, the woman (described as Beta) was visibly bleeding from her lips while trying to clean herself up inside a Toyota Corolla car.
This incident, however, spurred several reactions on social media, particularly on X (formerly known as Twitter), as many accused the Nigerian Police of continuous unprofessional conduct across the country.
Several Nigerians petitioned the Nigerian Police Force and its Public Relations Officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, charging them to investigate the incident and take action against police harassment.
One Harrison Gwamnishu, who posted the video of the alleged assault of a traveller via his X handle and described the traveller as Jennifer, said that the traveller was allegedly beaten by officers conducting a stop-and-search operation around Ada George, Port Harcourt, on Thursday.
He also appealed to the Police to investigate the incident. “Please investigate this and call these men to order. Thank you,” he wrote.
In response to this incident, the Rivers State Police Command, via its official X handle on Saturday, September 3, acknowledged that it was aware of the incident and had begun identifying the accused officers.
“The command wishes to inform the general public that all hands are on deck to identify the police officers in the trending video for proper investigation,” the police wrote on the micro-blogging site.
The ICIR reports that this incident is one of the few reported cases of police harassment in previous months.
This organization observed some videos on social media, particularly on X, where police officers were seen harassing Nigerians.
While the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) Olumuyiwa Adejobi has repeatedly said the force was taking action against erring officers, the cases of harassment persist in some states.
For instance, Adejobi, on May 17, 2023, confirmed that the Force arrested and detained some policemen who were seen in a viral video brutalising an Okada rider in Lagos.
Also, the Police, in July 2022, said it dismissed Richard Gele, an Inspector of Police caught in a viral video justifying extortion.
Police Harassment in Nigeria
Over the years, many Nigerians have suffered from police harassment and brutality. In 2020, protests against police brutality and harassment swept the nation, resulting in government pledges to reform the organisation.
However, almost three years later, young Nigerians still face this menace, causing them to suffer business losses.
The ICIR in October 2022, reported how Police brutality and extortion plagued many young Nigerians and frustrated many start-up businesses for years.
The report detailed how young people, including small-scale entrepreneurs like Mark Chuks, an Owerri, Imo state resident, lost their livelihoods to police brutality.
Chuks was a victim of an unjust police raid. The security operatives accused him of obstructing an operation. They beat him up and subsequently detained him at the Ihiagwa police station till the following day.
Upon regaining his freedom, however, Chucks fell ill from his beating. For a week after the incident, he could not work.
In another report in November 2022, The ICIR reported how Police officers devised point-of-sale (POS) to extort money from Nigerians.
David Onochie was one of the young Nigerians who paid N310,000, a transaction he did at a POS operator to secure his freedom from the Police.
This incident mirrored the experiences of other victims of police abuse who shared their stories with The ICIR.
Usman Mustapha is a solution journalist with International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: [email protected]. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M