By John Ogunsemore
The Force Public Relations Officer (FPRO), ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, has said any policeman who wears a mask or ties head gear is guilty of improper dressing.
Adejobi stated this in an X post on Saturday while wading into the controversy surrounding a masked supposed policeman scaling the fence of a building to arrest some suspects.
A video of the incident went viral on social media, especially X, on Thursday.
In the video, a purported police team can be seen standing before the locked gate of a building and ordering the occupants to open the gate, which the occupants declined.
Amid the ensuing stand-off, a member of the team, who is wearing a mask, proceeds to scale the fence to gain access to the building.
The video caused uproar on social media, with many netizens calling on police authorities to investigate the incident and bring the policemen involved to book.
The incident occurred days after an operative of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Aminu Sahabi Salisu, was shot dead as his team stormed a building in Anambra around 3 am on January 17.
Reacting, Adejobi said the police were empowered to break into any house or place where they are reasonably convinced an offence is being committed.
“Let’s clarify an issue here. The police have the power to break into any house or place where they are reasonably convinced an offence is being committed. That is understandable.
“But I am not too ok with their dressing and appearance. It is improper dressing. Policemen are not allowed to wear masks or tie head gear.
“These are 2 issues we need to iron out. What is the offence of the people to have warranted breaking in, and why this dressing? I wish I knew the location so that we could direct these questions to the men involved.”
Adejobi said he has shared the video with Police Public Relations Officers (PPROs) in the states to locate the men.
“We need to investigate the scene captured in the video,” the force spokesman added.