The Osun State Chapter of the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR) has condemned what it described as an “unprovoked assault” by Nigeria police officers on personnel of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Osogbo.
The CDHR’s reaction follows an altercation between the two security agencies on October 22 and 23, which led to the detention of NSCDC personnel by the Osun State Police Command.
According to reports, the clash started at Elizabeth Estate, Osogbo, when Oyo State Police operatives attempted to arrest suspected criminals within the estate, which was under NSCDC protection.
The NSCDC Osun Command, in a statement by Commandant Michael Adaralewa, noted that the police operatives from Oyo had stormed the Estate which resulted in a confrontation with the NSCDC personnel stationed there.
However, the Osun State Police Command, through spokesperson Yemisi Opalola, gave a different account, asserting that the NSCDC personnel blocked the police from arresting a suspected criminal, beat and injured two police officers and deflated the tires of their vehicle in the process.
Opalola stated that an investigation is ongoing to clarify the incident.
Reacting, the CDHR, through its chairman, Emmanuel Olowu, slammed the police for alleged disregard for the rights of other law enforcement officers.
“After carefully reviewing the press statements delivered by both organizations involved, it has become evident that the police have assumed a stance of supremacy over the NSCDC, undermining the rights and dignity of fellow law enforcement officers. To us, this attitude of the set of police officers threatens the integrity of the Nigeria Police force and poses a grave risk to the lives of ordinary Nigerians.
“If a security personnel can be assaulted in such a manner in broad daylight a civilian will be killed and thrown into the sea,” Olowu stated.
Olowu further linked the issue to long-standing concerns about police brutality in Nigeria which led to the #EndSARS movement.
“The issue of police brutality, assault, and illegal detention persisted for seventeen (17) years in Nigeria between the years 2000 and 2017. The campaign to end the operation of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) lasted for three (3) good years of social media campaigns between 2017 and 2020 which culminated in the tragic events of 20th of October 2020 at Lekki, Lagos State.
“We should not forget so soon that the police’s unethical and unprofessional practices led to the protest which eventually took many lives, destroyed properties across the country, and subjected the Nigeria government to wasting its resources to mitigate the effect of the protest caused by the long time police brutality in Nigeria.
“Four years after the EndSARS protest, the Nigerian government has not implemented the recommendation of the EndSARS Judicial Panel held across the country, which was a reason that the police, on the 23rd of October 2024, brutalised NSCDC officers at Elizabeth Estate, Osogbo, Osun State. It is alarming to note that, despite existing regulations prohibiting the use of private vehicles for official police operations and mandating professional conduct within the police, we still witness a blatant disregard for the rule of law.
“The recent actions of the police, including their unprofessional appearance—evidenced by officers wearing jackets over “ANKARA” cloth—reflect a troubling backwardness that should warrant the attention of civil society across Nigeria because if we do not check the police now, it might be our turn tomorrow,” he said.
According to the CDHR’s statement, a viral video showed NSCDC officers being assaulted, detained, and handcuffed “like a common criminal” adding that the detained personnel was allegedly moved between various police stations and denied release despite NSCDC’s identification.
“To us in the CDHR the conduct displayed during the assault on the NSCDC personnel is unacceptable and we will not relent until justice is served because the viral video reported that the officer’s uniform was torn, he was brutally assaulted beyond description, disarmed, handcuffed like a common criminal, before he was forcefully whisked away to the Ataoja Division and later moved to the Police State Headquarters and kept in detention from 23rd of October 2024 to 25th of October 2024 despite the intervention of the NSCDC team of senior officers.
“We, in Osun CDHR, were shocked at the narration of the NSCDC that the police requested that if they could identify the officer, they would release him, however after the identification, the police failed to release him, kept him in detention without treatment, to us such actions can’t and should not be justified under any circumstances.
“It is like a shock to us that in this 21st century, police still go around making arrests without proper identification or presentation of search warrants. If the police can intimidate and harass NSCDC personnel and subject them to unlawful detention under the watch of a Commissioner of Police of a state, despite the intervention of the NSCDC team of senior officers, then the common man and his family could be slaughtered, tortured, and electrocuted among other grievous form of torture.”
He further called on the Police Service Commission and other security stakeholders to investigate the conduct of the officers involved and hold those responsible accountable.
He also urged the civil society organizations and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs).