Police Clarify Spokesperson’s Reaction To Video Of Civilian Assaulting Officer

The Nigeria Police Force on Monday made clarifications on the assertion of its Spokesperson, CSP Olumuyiwa Adejobi on a trending video of civilians assaulting a uniformed policeman in Lagos State.

Adejobi in a series of random tweets condemned the video of two civilians attempting to disarm a policeman, which is the second viral case of assault on an officer in Lagos.

The Spokesperson while reacting to the incident said, “if a policeman in uniform slaps a civilian, the civilian has no right to retaliate.”

Adejobi stated that an assault on police officers is disrespectful to the Force and the nation. He noted, “so it’s not a case of what the policeman did that led to it, but the reaction of the civilians who actually assaulted the police”.

Even if a policeman on uniform slaps a civilian, the civilian has no right to retaliate more so if hes on uniform, its an act of disrespect to Nigeria, to beat an officer on uniform, the disrespect is not to the policeman but to our nation and its a crime as enshrined in https://t.co/csNA8rZLJU

— Prince Olumuyiwa Adejobi (@Princemoye1) September 17, 2022

The statement fueled mixed reactions inciting the Police authority to issue a statement where it noted that media platforms, not THE WHISTLER “deliberately misquoted it as endorsing violence by uniformed officers against members of the public”.

The statement also signed by the Adejobi read partly, “In the extant case, the individuals resorted to self-help and assaulted the officers, attempted to snatch the officers’ firearm, and in so doing breached the law.

“It is trite that two wrongs cannot make a right, as such whatever the provocation, the action of the individuals were wrong in all ramifications as they would have reported the matter for prompt action.

“Emphasis on this has clearly been misrepresented across media platforms as a single tweet in a thread was mischievously read out of context with a mischievous caption ‘No Nigerian Has the Right to Retaliate when Police Slaps You…’.

“The Force urges well-meaning members of the public all of whom are strategic stakeholders in policing across the country to disregard the malicious publications as the current police administration is committed to ensuring that the rights of all citizens, uniformed or not, are protected across board”.

Meanwhile, the police noted that where a public officer acts contrary to the provisions of extant laws, there are channels to report such conduct and get prompt justice, particularly in the force.

“This has been evidential in the continuous sanctions meted out by the Police authority on officers engaged in violation of individual rights, as well as extant laws when reported via any of the available police complaint channels,” the statement said.

The Police thereafter urged Nigerian not to take laws into their hands whenever they have unpleasant encounters with police officers.

“Complaints arising from such encounters can be reported via the Police Public Relations Officers (PPROs) of the various Commands, the Complaint Response Unit (CRU) and via official Police accounts across social media platforms.

“Similarly, the idea of pouncing on and beating up Law Enforcement Agents carrying out their public duty by members of the public whom they serve is criminal and disrespectful to our beloved nation, Nigeria, and must not be allowed to exacerbate,” the statement read.