The Public Relations Officer of the Nigerian Police Force, CSP Olumuyiwa Adejobi has clarified the controversy surrounding his comments on retaliation of civilians to police assault.
In a tweet that has since gone viral, Adejobi, yesterday in reaction to a video where some individuals assaulted a policeman and attempted to disarm him of his rifle, stated that civilians are compelled by law to respect police officers and even if a uniformed officer slaps a civilian, such civilian is not entitled to retaliate as such retaliation will amount to disrespect on the Nigerian state.
The comment afterwards came under heavy backlash from human right activists and public commentators who accused to the Force PRO of endorsing police brutality on civilians.
However, in a statement made available to TheNigeriaLawyer, Mr Adejobi clarified his comments claiming he was deliberately misquoted.
He said, “It has become pertinent to emphasize that the Nigeria Police Force has been a vanguard of sustainable democracy in the country via the aggressive protection of the fundamental rights of the citizens and other members of the Nigerian society. 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.”
In the statement titled: “WE DON’T CONDONE INDISCIPLINE, VIOLATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS, Mr Adejobi continued “The Force Public Relations Officer reacted to a trending video where some individuals grievously assaulting a police officer, and attempting to disarm the officer by dragging his loaded AK47 rifle, restated the law on serious assault as enshrined on Section 356 (2) of the Criminal Code Act of Southern Nigeria with explanations. However, some media platforms deliberately misquoted it as endorsing violence by uniformed officers against members of the public.”
He added, “Where a public officer acts contrary to the provisions of extant laws, there are channels to report such conduct and get prompt justice, particularly in the Nigeria Police Force. In the extant case, the individuals resorted to self-help and assaulted the officers, attempted to snatch the officers’ firearm, 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.”
He urged well-meaning members of the public all of whom are strategic stakeholders in policing across the country to disregard the malicious publications as the current police administration is committed to ensuring that the rights of all citizens, uniformed or not, is protected across board.
He equally noted that the Force urges the Nigerian populace not to take laws into their hands whenever they have 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.”
Credit: The Nigeria Lawyers