The Commissioner of Police in Delta State, Olufemi Abaniwonda, has ordered the detention of operatives caught assaulting a young man in a viral video.
In a statement sent to PREMIUM TIMES on Sunday, the police spokesperson in the state, Bright Edafe, said the commissioner has condemned the unprofessional conduct of the operatives.
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“On receipt of this video, which captures some police officers assaulting a young man around Asaba Specialist Hospital area on Sunday, Mr Abaniwonda immediately ordered that the operatives be identified and brought before the command headquarters for immediate disciplinary action.
“The police officers have been identified and detained pending the commencement of their orderly room trial, while their team leader, who is an assistant superintendent of police, has been queried,” Mr Edafe, a superintendent of police, said.
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The video
In the viral video, three armed operatives could be seen dragging a young man, who wore only a singlet and boxer shorts, along a street in the state.
The street appears deserted with a few persons seen in the video watching as the operatives dragged the man in his boxer.
“Bring it. Wetin de worry you. I say bring it,” one operative could be heard saying in the video. It is not clear what offence the man committed and what the officers were demanding from him.
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In the video, two additional operatives could be seen sprinting towards the scene as their colleagues dragged the man.
“You no de fear abi? Your own don done today,” one of the two operatives who hurried to the scene could be heard saying in the video.
“You no de fear!” he reechoed, and then slapped the man.
“The commissioner of police wishes to reiterate that it’s not in the character of the command to trample on the rights of citizens, assault or harass people,” Mr Edafe said in the statement.
The commissioner assured the public that the officers concerned will be dealt with in line with extant laws to serve as a deterrent to others, noting that such conduct by officers will not be tolerated.
Not the first time
This newspaper has reported several cases of police assault and alleged killings of Nigerians.
In 2023, PREMIUM TIMES reported how a police inspector, Ubi Ebri, was dismissed from service for allegedly killing a man in Delta for refusing to give him a N100 bribe.
The slain man, Onyeka Ibe, was allegedly killed by Mr Ebri while the police were on stop-and-search duty along Ugbolu-Illah Road in the state.
The youths in the area, angered by the gruesome killing, carried the victim’s corpse in a rolling stretcher and marched through major roads in the state capital, Asaba.
In the same year, this newspaper also reported how the police demoted another officer filmed slapping a motorist in the neighbouring Rivers State.
The officer, Adejoh Siaka, was demoted from the rank of an inspector to a sergeant after an administrative trial.
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