Police question officers filmed assaulting man

The police in Abia State, South-east Nigeria, say they have begun interrogation of officers who were filmed assaulting a man in the state.

The police spokesperson in Abia, Maureen Chinaka, disclosed this in a statement on Friday.

The video clip

The video clip which showed the officers assaulting the yet-to-be-identified man had been circulating on social media.

In the clip seen by PREMIUM TIMES, three operatives wearing police uniform and one other in mufti were hitting and kicking the unidentified man who was forced to lie down on the ground.

One of the operatives was seen violently hitting the man on his hand with a rifle.

Two other officers, moments later, forced the man to spread his hands on the ground while they violently marched on the hands.

The man was writhing in pain while appearing to beg the operatives to let him go.

The incident was said to have happened on Thursday in Umuahia, the Abia State capital.

Police interrogation

Ms Chinaka, a deputy superintendent of police, said in the Friday statement that the police in the state were already investigating the incident.

“The officers involved have been identified and are currently under interrogation at the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID),” she said.

The spokesperson did not mention the number and names of the officers being interrogated for the misconduct.

She said the Commissioner of Police in Abia State, Danladi Isa, has strongly condemned the incident.

Mr Isa, according to the statement, described the incident as “unprofessional misconduct and incivility” against Nigerians.

The police chief reiterated that, under his leadership, the police command will remain committed to ensuring a “professionally competent, rule-of-law compliant, and people-friendly police force” in the state.

He urged Nigerians to report any officer who exhibited misconduct, unprofessional behavior, or incivility to the police’s Complaint Response Unit.

Not the first time

Cases of police brutality, extortion and other unprofessional activities in Nigeria have continued despite sanctions by police authorities, such as dismissal from service.

The latest incident happened exactly two weeks after police authorities in Abia State dismissed three officers for alleged abduction and extortion.

In October, police in Ebonyi began an orderly room trial of officers filmed extorting motorists in the state.

Within the same period, the police in Imo State began another orderly room trial of four officers seen in a viral video clip extorting motorists in the state.

About three months earlier, police operatives in Bayelsa State extorted N3 million from a Nigerian man at gunpoint.

The officers were subsequently arrested after the victim petitioned police authorities.

The police operatives later returned the N3 million to the victim, about three weeks later.