Lagos DPO Ordered to Investigate Own Offence

Matilda Omonaiye/

A divisional police officer in Lagos has been ordered to investigate an offence she was allegedly involved in.

Lagos State police commissioner, Mr. Imohimi Edgal, handed down the order on Friday following reports that an Inspector brutalised an innocent man and a woman in a commuter bus.

Police spokesman, SP Chike Oti, disclosed the CPs directive in a statement sent to NewsmakersNG.

The statement was silent on the alleged complicity of the DPO in charge of Dopemu Police Station, CSP Mary Ayim, in the incident.

Rather, the statement says the same DPO had been mandated by the police hierarchy to arrest the errant police inspector and investigate the incident.

Police Inspector Lawal Murtala, attached to the Dopemu division, allegedly assaulted a yet-to-be identified man in a commuter bus along the Agege Motor road. He also reportedly beat up and detained a female passenger who recorded the incident on her phone.

The female victim. Anne Bibi, in a Facebook post of the incident alleged that the policeman forcefully deleted the pictures and videos on her phone before damaging the screen.

But unknown to the policeman, the lady had sent the videos and pictures to her sister.

She further alleged that the female DPO at the station supported the action of the offending policeman and also ordered her detention.

Her post reads: “Inspector Lawal Murtala of the Dopemu division Lagos, Nigeria, beat me up today just because I recorded him beating up an innocent man and was dragged to the police station.

“I was detained for hours, and the video forcefully deleted of which unknowing to them, I had already forwarded one successfully to my sister via WhatsApp.

“Then my phone was smashed and seized. Imagine going to report an assault by a policeman and I get detained instead saying a policeman can do whatever he likes and that videoing a policeman is an offence.

“The DPO, a woman was in full support of the policeman, ordered that I get detained saying I wanted to video to post and she will not let that happen. I was detained from 2 pm till 7 pm. This is INJUSTICE !!!

“The police who should protect us are the ones victimising us and this should change. It is not just fair. We all should say no to police brutality.”

The statement by the police reads: “The attention of the Commissioner of Police Lagos State Command has been drawn to a posting in the social media alleging that a police inspector serving in Lagos State Command slapped a young woman during an argument inside a commercial bus that commuted them from Obalende to Dopemu, along Agege Motor Road, Lagos.

“In view of the above, the CP Lagos had directed the Divisional Police Officer in charge of Dopemu, CSP Mary Ayim, to arrest the Inspector, get the facts of the case and transfer the matter to the Police Provost Department for further investigation.

“The CP assured that the findings in this case would be made public as usual.”

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