A video clip posted on Facebook by rights activist Harrison Gwamnishu showed a police officer repeatedly beating an unidentified man with a belt while another slapped him as he rolled on a tarred road.
Evidence has emerged suggesting that the police in Rivers State may be attempting to suppress accountability and justice over a viral video showing four gun-wielding police operatives assaulting a man in Iwofe, Rumuolumeni, in the Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of the state.
The assaulted man, who is seen in the video resisting being forced into a Toyota Camry, screamed in despair as one of the officers ordered him to enter the car, while another was heard accusing him of “fighting policemen.”
Two bystanders, a man and a woman, were seen watching the incident unfold. In the clip, no police patrol vehicle was visible at the location.
The incident contravenes Section 37 of the Nigeria Police Act, 2020, which prohibits the torture or inhumane treatment of suspects.
The Act specifically mandates that every suspect “shall be accorded humane treatment, having regard to his right to the dignity of his person” and must not be “subjected to any form of torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.”
Blessing Agabe, the police spokesperson in Rivers, in a comment on 17 April on Mr Gwamnishu’s Facebook post, said the command was aware of the video clip.
“An investigation is ongoing. We urge the victim(s) to report to the Police Headquarters,” she wrote, sharing the contact of the Complaint Response Unit (CRU) of the police and her personal phone number.
When PREMIUM TIMES called Ms Agabe on 20 April to find out the progress of the investigation, she gave contradictory responses.
She initially said, “That matter has been resolved between the complainant and the officers in question.”
Pressed for clarity on what she meant by “resolved”, Ms Agabe replied in Pidgin English, “Journalist, when dem talk resolve, you no understand the meaning of resolved?”
Reminded that the incident constituted a clear violation of Section 37 of the Police Act, the spokesperson walked back her statement.
She said, “I am fully aware of that. Like I said in my public comment, investigations are still ongoing on that particular matter. This is because the fact that we got and the fact that is online, we are still trying to know what actually happened at that place. But the police officers in question have been arrested.”
When asked to name the arrested officers and to clarify the apparent contradiction between her earlier claim of “resolution” and her latest assertion of “ongoing investigation,” Ms Agabe declined to comment further, saying, “Investigation is ongoing. When the investigation is concluded, you will get the full report.”
But a source at the police headquarters in Rivers told PREMIUM TIMES that “no policeman has been arrested in the state between the 17th and the morning of 20 April.”
The source, who requested anonymity because he was not authorised to speak on the matter, suggested instead that “the matter has likely been settled between the assaulted man and the policemen.”
The conflicting statements have deepened concerns that the police in Rivers may be working to obscure the facts surrounding the incident rather than ensure accountability and justice.
This is not the first time the police have assaulted a citizen in Rivers. PREMIUM TIMES had reported how three police operatives assaulted a motorist. The force headquarters in Abuja ordered their arrest after the incident.
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