Seven Nigerian police officers have been caught on video brutally assaulting a man in the middle of a road.
The 30-second clip is being distributed on Twitter. It is not clear, for now, where and when the incident occurred, and what crime the man committed.
A Twitter user, Rinu Oduala (@SavvyRinu) who uploaded the clip on March 18 to the microblogging site, sarcastically commented: “The best police force in the world: the nigerian police.”
The best police force in the world: The Nigerian Police. pic.twitter.com/T5bF7FTHhP
– Rinu Oduala ?? (@SavvyRinu) March 18, 2022
The officers, with their uniforms on, were armed.
One of the officers first gave the unidentified man a hard kick to the stomach, causing him to instantly fall to the ground, before they all took turns kicking the man and stomping on him.
Two police pick-up trucks were parked in the middle of the road as the assault unfolded.
Obviously, the officers did not know that their action was being filmed.
Background voices (speaking in the Igbo language) in the video expressed shock at the officers’ brutality.
“Why are you beating this man?” said the first voice in the clip.
“These people are evil,” replied the second voice.
“That’s a drunk!”
“They want to break his leg!”
“What did this man do now?”
“You want to break the leg of a drunk going about his business?”
“Boy, Nigeria, boy!”
Ayo Sogunro (@ayosogunro), a Nigerian lawyer and rights advocate, shared the clip on Twitter, commenting, “When people still ask why #EndSARS had to happen, this is part of it.”
When people still ask why #EndSARS had to happen, this is part of it. Nigerian police will beat a person senseless for being rude and then turn around to hope for public sympathy. It’s not going to happen.pic.twitter.com/Atnp2zleeH
— Dr. Ayo Sogunro (@ayosogunro) March 18, 2022
“Nigerian police will beat a person senseless for being rude and then turn around to hope for public sympathy. It’s not going to happen,” said Sogunro, author of Everything In Nigeria Is Going To Kill You.
The Police Complaints Response Unit responded to Mr. Sogunro and requested information on when and where the incident occurred.
This complaint is hereby intercepted and the investigation initiated. Kindly mention when and where this incident was recorded to facilitate action in this regard, please.
Thank you for contacting NPF-CRU. https://t.co/lFd93lZONS
— POLICE COMPLAINT (@PoliceNG_CRU) March 18, 2022
The tweet said that police had launched an investigation into the incident.
Masked man also attacked
Another clip on Twitter showed some officers, most likely the same group of officers, attacking a masked man in the middle of a highway.
The officers beat the masked man with sticks as he struggled to escape from them.