Olusegun ARIYO
The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) says it will take disciplinary action against officers captured in a viral video allegedly harassing two young men in the Abulado area of Lagos.
An X user shared a viral video showing some officers, reportedly on stop-and-search duty, attempting to search the bags of two young men, while allegedly harassing and threatening them.
One of the individuals in the video was heard saying in Pidgin English: “I have never seen a police officer carry a driver to one side to search him away from where his car is parked on the road.”
In an update shared on X on Saturday, the police complaint response unit said Olatunji Disu, inspector-general of police (IGP), has directed the divisional police officer (DPO) of Satellite Town, Lagos, to produce the officers in Abuja on April 8 for disciplinary proceedings.
The police said the officers have been identified and will face appropriate sanctions.
“Dear members of the public, the policemen in the viral video have been identified, and appropriate disciplinary actions await them accordingly. We seek your support and trust as we fight impunity to a standstill,” the post reads.
The incident was captured by one of the young men’s smart eyeglasses.
In March, a federal high court ruled that Nigerians have the right to record police officers during stop-and-search operations in public spaces.https://urbanexpresslive.com/epl-real-reason-wolves-defeated-liverpool-gerrard/
The ruling came after Maxwell Nosakhare Uwaifo, a lawyer, filed a fundamental rights suit against the IGP, Nigeria Police Force (NPF), Police Service Commission (PSC), and attorney-general of the Federation (AGF), after he was allegedly harassed by officers in Edo.https://urbanexpresslive.com/epl-why-alan-smith-blames-two-arsenal-stars-for-2-2-draw-with-wolves/
Hyeladzira Nganjiwa, the presiding judge, ruled that “anonymous policing is unconstitutional,” noting that Nigerians have the constitutional right to record police officers performing their duties in public.https://urbanexpresslive.com/allocation-dispute-osun-apc-slams-pdp-lawmakers-for-what-it-termed-disregard-of-court-ruling/
The judge also held that it is unlawful for police to harass, intimidate, arrest, or seize devices from citizens for recording them.
The police have yet to provide further details on the nature of the planned disciplinary action.
