The Public relations officer of the Nigerian police has confirmed that the assistant superintendent of police who fired the shot that killed a Lawyer on Christmas day has been arrested.
In his twitter handle,Benjamin Hundeyin confirmed that the shooter and two others have been moved to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) for Investigation.To the dismay of many ,the names of the officers were kept secret. This is very unusual with the Nigerian Police that has a reputation of parading criminal suspects and naming them before the press.
There is no evidence yet that the police is trying to cover up the incident, however,the family of the deceased at the time of the incident escalated the story and raised the suspicion that the police may change the narrative and now they have failed to publicity give the names of the suspects.
Lawyers in Nigeria are endangered species in the hands of the police. They are brutalised in the course of their duty and the Nigerian Bar Association has done little in this regard. Most times when they take steps , it usually ends with a “paddy paddy” settlement with the police and no actions are filed subsequently. This gives the police the audacity to not only repress lawyers but the entire citizens of the country as the lawyers involved in the process are usually more interested in collecting the phone numbers of top police officers instead of launching serious offensive in the courts.
In 2020,the youths of Nigeria rose against police victimisation holding the country to a standstill. Among the police stations that suffered destruction was Ajiwe police Station in Ajah which was burnt to the ground. The police men from this station were involved in the Christmas day shooting of a female shot on the chest in the passenger’s seat of the car driven by her husband.
The outrage at the moment is on a high crescendo and the usual fear is that,it may end like any other matter . Forgotten.
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