An inspector was arrested by the Imo State Police Command for assaulting a young man in a viral video.
The incident which happened in Owerri, the state capital, elicited reactions as many condemned the inhumane act meted out to the victim.
Responding to a call for the arrest of the erring cop, the state Commissioner of Police, Muhammed Berde, ordered the immediate arrest of the officer.
In a statement issued by the spokesperson for the police in the State, Henry Okoye, on Wednesday, the CP condemned the cop’s unprofessional conduct.
He ordered that the cop be identified and arrested immediately, saying that the officer’s act was unacceptable.
The statement read, “The attention of Imo State Police Command has been drawn to a viral video with a caption; ”Nigeria Police can Never be Your Friend Especially the Ones in Owerri”, where a Police Inspector alleged to be serving in Imo State was seen forcefully removing the cap of a young man and slapping him several times on his face.
“The Commissioner of Police, Imo State, CP Mohammed Ahmed Barde, psc(+), condemns this irritating act in totality as it highly contradicts the professional ethics and code of conduct of the Force. The Nigeria Police Force is a highly disciplined organisation and will never tolerate the misconduct of the officer seen in the video.
“To this effect, the CP has mandated his monitoring team to investigate and identify the officer for necessary disciplinary action. More so, the victim is encouraged to call the PPRO Imo on 08148024755 or come to the Police Public Relations Department Owerri and make his complaint.”
In an update a few hours later, the same Wednesday, the police spokesman announced that the erring cop had been identified and arrested.
Okoye said the cop is currently undergoing an orderly room trial.
The police spokesman confirmed “the irritating incident happened in Owerri. The recalcitrant Inspector has been identified; he is currently undergoing orderly room trial after which necessary disciplinary action will be taken against him.”
