Follow Us on Google
Residents of River Park Estate, Abuja, have sent a Save-old-souls (SOS) to the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Olatunji Disu, urging him to investigate and caution police officers allegedly involved in an attack on the premises of a Ghanaian-owned investment.
The residents alleged that the conduct of the armed policemen and those they allegedly accompanied could send the wrong signal to foreign investors and fuel fears of xenophobic sentiments.
The appeal followed an operation involving armed policemen at the Gallery Clubhouse, a recreational facility owned by a Ghanaian investment firm in River Park Estate, Abuja.
Residents alleged that armed policemen, said to be attached to the Counter Terrorism Unit (CTU) of the Nigeria Police Force, escorted a group of men to the facility, where part of the entrance was reportedly excavated.
Witnesses claimed the officers prevented staff from interfering with the operation and declined to disclose the authority under which they were acting when questioned.
The incident, which occurred on June 29, has generated widespread reactions after a video of the operation surfaced online.
In the footage, one of the armed men repeatedly ordered a staff member to stop recording the incident, insisting that filming him without his consent infringed on his fundamental rights.
“Why are you videoing me? I am giving you a lawful order; stop videoing me. The whole world will see this video. You can’t video me without my permission. You are infringing on my rights. The rights you have as a Nigerian or as a visitor are the same rights I have. You have no right to video me. From the moment I arrived, you started videoing me,” the officer was heard saying.
Attempts by the staff member to explain why he was recording were repeatedly interrupted. At one point, the officer advised him to report his grievance at a police station or to the Commissioner of Police instead of filming him.
After several attempts to speak, the staff member replied: “The reason for recording is because it is an illegal action to be destroying the place.”
Other News
The officer, however, maintained that his rights had been violated, saying: “You can do that to a layman policeman, not a wise man like me. I know you are videoing me.”
He subsequently directed that everyone involved should proceed to the police station.
The development has drawn concern from residents and observers, who described the operation as an invasion of private property and urged the authorities to investigate the circumstances surrounding it.
One of the witnesses, Sajay Omagbemi, warned that unless the incident was transparently investigated, it could create the wrong impression about Nigeria’s disposition towards foreign investors.
According to him, “We are calling on the Inspector-General of Police and the Federal Government to ensure that justice is done and the law is allowed to take its full course. This matter should not be swept under the carpet because it involves a foreign investor. We do not want anything that could create the impression of hostility towards foreign investments or lead to the kind of xenophobic tensions witnessed in South Africa. Nigeria has always been known as a welcoming nation, and we must protect that reputation.”
Other residents also appealed to the IGP to order a transparent investigation into the incident, saying a prompt resolution would reassure both local and foreign investors of Nigeria’s commitment to the rule of law. They also urged President Bola Tinubu to ensure the matter is thoroughly investigated.
The Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in charge of River Park Estate, Adeagbo Olatunji, confirmed he was aware of the incident.
“I have invited both parties involved to ascertain what actually happened. If it is purely a land matter, there is little I can do because we have been advised not to interfere in land disputes. Once they honour my invitation, I will know the next step to take. Secondly, I am not the spokesperson for the police command, so I cannot comment further,” he said.
In his reaction, CEO Kojo Mensah Ansah River Park said the DPO did not call or invited him to his off, “the DPO never called not to talk of sending for me.”
The Federal Capital Territory Police Command is yet to issue an official response to the viral video.
