the police in state of the riversin south-south Nigeria, they say they will investigate some officers who allegedly assaulted a traveler in the state.
Assault
A human rights activist, Harrison Gwamnishu, had asked the Nigerian Police through its X-handle (formerly Twitter) on Friday for the alleged assault on a traveler by unidentified police officers in the state.
Gwamnishu said the traveler, identified simply as Jennifer, was allegedly beaten by officers who were in a stop-and-frisk operation around Ada George, Port Harcourt, on Thursday.
The activist uploaded a video clip of the incident.
“Please investigate this and call these men to order. Thank you,” he appealed to the Nigerian police authorities.
video clip
In the one minute and three second clip, which has now gone viral, a woman is heard yelling at armed officers on a highway, accusing them of hurting her sister.
“This is the Nigerian police. Look at my sister’s mouth,” she yelled at the officers.
The video showed at least four armed officers at the scene of the incident.
“The police give my sister a beta lesion and you are here making a video of me. After hurting my sister. Did you see anything in my sister’s bag? Never,” she said.
The sister, who was supposed to be Jennifer, was bleeding from her lips. She was seen inside a Toyota Corolla car struggling to get clean.
The clip did not show when the officers allegedly inflicted the wound on him.
Two unidentified people, believed to be fellow passengers, were seen arguing with some of the officers.
The police react
In response, the Rivers State Police, through their Officer X-handle On Saturday, they said that the viral video of the officers accused of assaulting the lady had caught their attention.
“… The command wishes to inform the general public that everyone is available to identify the police officers in the trending video for proper investigation,” the police wrote on the microblogging site.
It’s not the first time
The latest incident occurred about five months after a police officer, filmed slapping a motorist in Emouha, Rivers State, was demoted.
The Emouha incident occurred a few days after Ubi Ebri, another officer, allegedly shot dead a young man in neighboring Delta state for refusing to give an N100 bribe.
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Newslodge reported how youths in Delta state protested with the victim’s body along the main roads of Asaba.
Mr. Ebri, the officer, was immediately arrested, dismissed from service, and subsequently prosecuted.