The Nigeria Police Force has made clarifications on its assertion regarding a trending video of civilians assaulting a uniformed policeman in Lagos State.
The Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, made the clarification on Monday.
TheFact Daily reports that 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 FPPRO, while reacting to the incident said, “if a policeman in uniform slaps a civilian, the civilian has no right to retaliate.”
He stated that an assault on police officers is disrespectful to the Force and the nation, noting that, “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”.
The statement, however fueled mixed reactions, which led the Police authority to issue a statement where it noted that media platforms “deliberately misquoted it as endorsing violence by uniformed officers against members of the public”.
“In the extant case, the individuals resorted to self-help and assaulted the officers, attempted to snatch the officers’ firearms, 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”, it said.
The Force in the statement reiterated its commitment to ensuring that the rights of all citizens, uniformed or not, are protected across board, and therefore urged members of the public to disregard the malicious publications.
Meanwhile, the Force noted that where a public officer acts contrary to the provisions of extant laws, there were 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 Nigerians against taking laws into their own hands whenever they had 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.
