Seven Nigerian police officers have been captured in a video brutally assaulting a man in the middle of a road.
The 30-seconds clip is being circulated on Twitter. It is unclear, for now, where and when the incident took place, and the offence the man committed.
A Twitter user, Rinu Oduala (@SavvyRinu) who uploaded the clip, March 18, on the micro-blogging site, commented sarcastically on it, “The best police force in the world: The Nigerian Police.”
https://twitter.com/SavvyRinu/status/1504748826959167489
The officers, with their uniforms on, were armed.
One of the officers first gave the unidentified man a hard kick on his stomach, prompting him to fall instantly on the ground, before all of them took turns to kick the man and stomped on him.
Two pick-up trucks belonging to the police were parked in the middle of the road, while the assault was going on.
The officers were obviously unaware that their action was being filmed.
The background voices (speaking in Igbo Language) in the clip expressed shock over the officers’ brutality.
“Why are they beating this man?” said the first voice in the clip.
“These people are wicked,” the second voice responded.
“That is a drunk!”
“They want to break his leg!”
“What did this man do now?”
“You want to break the leg of a drunk that is going about his business?”
“Guy, Nigeria, guy!”
Ayo Sogunro (@ayosogunro), a Nigerian lawyer and rights advocate, shared the clip on Twitter, and commented, “When people still ask why #EndSARS had to happen, this is part of it.”
When people still ask why #EndSARS had to happen, this is part of it. The Nigerian police will beat up a person senseless for being rude and then turn round to expect public sympathy. It's npy going to happen.pic.twitter.com/Atnp2zleeH
— Dr Ayo Sogunro (@ayosogunro) March 18, 2022
“The Nigerian police will beat up a person senseless for being rude and then turn round to expect public sympathy. It’s not going to happen,” said Mr Sogunro, the author of Everything In Nigeria Is Going To Kill You.
The Complaint Response Unit of the police responded to Mr Sogunro and requested information about when and where the incident happened.
This complaint is hereby intercepted and investigation initiated. Kindly mention when and where this incident was recorded to facilitate action at this end, please.
Thank you for contacting NPF-CRU. https://t.co/lFd93lZONS
— POLICE COMPLAINT (@PoliceNG_CRU) March 18, 2022
The tweet said the police had begun an investigation into the incident.
Masquerader also assaulted
Another clip on Twitter showed some officers – most likely the same set of officers – assaulting a masquerader in the middle of a road.
The officers beat the masquerader with sticks as he struggled to escape from them.
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