Some police officers on mufti have attacked some residents of Lagos state with guns, machetes and bottles.
The officers from the Area P command of the state attacked the residents of the Aboru area of Alimosho LGA for resisting the arrest of some youths in the area.
Earlier, some armed police officers from the command who were on mufti without any tag drove a yellow commercial bus to a shop in the area and arrested the youths for playing ludo games.
But the residents of the area came out to challenge the police officers, asking them why the boys were being arrested. One of the officers said they were caught playing ludo and “gambling”.
The residents, however, resisted the arrest saying the
officers were not identifiable and there was no way they could trace the boys
to their stations. Some of the residents also claimed ludo was an indoor game
and cannot be tagged a criminal offence.
TheCable reports that one of the officers insisted the boys must be arrested for “gambling”.
The officers called the command for reinforcement alleging
that they were under attack by residents of the area.
About 20 minutes later, about 15 police officers invaded the
area with three yellow commercial buses and began to arrest the residents. One
of the police officers in mufti broke an empty bottle of beer on a car
mechanic’s head. Two others attacked the residents with machetes.
The police officers carted away mechanical equipment, car
plate numbers and other working tools in nearby workshops.
The armed police officers also attempted to arrest and force
TheCable reporter into one of the commercial buses. When he identified himself
as a journalist, he was immediately released.
In January, Oluwamuyiwa Adejobi, force public relations
officer, said wearing a mufti during a patrol or stop and search by its
personnel is a breach of the code of conduct of the force and should be
curtailed.
“You will recall that we have ordered and announced that any
policeman embarking on routine patrol or stop and search must be in uniform,
properly dressed, and easily identified. It’s not ideal to carry out a stop and
search in mufti. The audacity to misbehave or carry out unprofessional conduct
comes when you know your identity is hidden and unknown. I still reiterate that
policemen on stop and search and routine patrol must be in uniform,” Adejobi
said.
In 2019, the Lagos state police command said the use of
commercial vehicles popularly known as Danfo for police operations is
unacceptable and defaulters will be sanctioned.
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Where is the rule of law in this case?
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