IG orders investigation on video showing policemen terrorising lady

Juliana Francis

The Inspector-General of Police, Mr Mohammed Adamu, has ordered investigation into a viral video, which shows Operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), terrorising and humiliating a lady, found in the home of a suspected armed robber in the Apata area of  Ibadan, Oyo State.

According to a statement signed by the Force spokesman, Frank Mba, the IGP has ordered investigations into the circumstances surrounding the dehumanising treatment meted out to the female victim in the video.

In the video, which was mostly in Yoruba, SARS Operatives went to arrest a suspected armed robber in his house and met the victim with the suspect. The victim had just completed her NYSC, after graduating from the University of Ibadan.

According to the girl, she met the guy the day she came to collect her NYSC certificate and while getting to know each other, the guy told her that he works in Lagos State, where he produces soft drinks. The victim further explained that she and the suspect were not lovers that he told her he wanted to buy some of the shoes she sells.

She further explained that it was her first time visiting the suspect and that she only came after he pleaded with her to come and cook for him.

Thereafter, the policeman rolling the camera asked about her last boyfriend and why she left him. He also asked her if she left her former boyfriend, so that she could become a lover to a robber.

The girl was further asked when she was deflowered and who deflowered her. But before subjecting her to the barrage of questions, the policemen had already seized her phone.

In the video, one of the policemen knocked down the handcuffed lady and screamed a torrent of questions at her. She fell down, stood and was shaking in fright. The policeman further threatened to punch her if she didn’t respond on time to his question. He then called her a prostitute.

The video has attracted condemnation from different quarters, compelling the IGP to launch an investigation.

Mba said: “The IGP, while condemning the act, has directed the commencement of comprehensive investigations aimed at unravelling the true identity of the perpetrators with a view to bringing them to justice. Members are hereby assured that any member of the Force found culpable in the incident will be made to face appropriate sanctions.”