Police investigate assault on two Delta university students

The Nigeria Police Force has condemned the assault on two unidentified students at the Delta State University of Science and Technology in Ozoro by some unidentified males suspected of being police officers.

This followed a viral video on X (previously Twitter) that elicited a variety of reactions from police officers. The video, shared on Monday by an X user with the handle ‘Ughellivibes’, depicted two episodes in which police officers beat some young males with batons as others watched.

In response to the incident, the Force Public Relations Officer, ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, condemned the behaviour and emphasised that the Force did not condone any indecent or unprofessional behaviour.

He, however, asked the Delta State Police Command to investigate the situation and bring the offenders to justice.

He said, “Look into this. We should always be able to justify our actions. The beating is condemned, not professional. Like I always say, the police have powers to arrest, search, enforce the law, and apply minimum force to carry out their operations, but such must be done with decorum, professionalism, and proportionality. We don’t support any indecent or unprofessional conduct. No way.”

Responding to the event, Delta State Police Public Relations Officer SP Bright Edafe urged that members of the public assist the command with information about the victims.

Edafe wrote: “Please, whoever knows the victim should send him this number, 09155570008, or any of our CRU lines.”

Attempts to contact Edafe to learn more about the police’s progress proved futile, as many calls and texts sent to him remained unanswered as of the time of posting this article.

According to a news report, locals in the Jogor Centre neighbourhood of Ibadan, Oyo State, protested the alleged assault of a 17-year-old kid who was hospitalised after being slapped by a police officer.

According to reports, the youth, whose identity was not released by people who observed the incident due to his underage status, had recently returned from the United States to see his elderly grandmother but was subjected to police brutality.

The incident reportedly occurred on December 27, 2023, over the holiday season, but eyewitnesses stated they could no longer keep quiet about it, especially after recovering some of the videos and photos they managed to capture during the occurrence.

A local, Sola Ajayi, claimed to have said the officers were still in the vicinity and questioned whether looking nice was a crime that justified the alleged assault on the teen.