The Rivers State Commissioner of Police, Okon Effiong, has ordered the immediate arrest of an as‑yet unidentified policeman who was captured in a viral video assaulting a man at Elibrade junction in the Emohua Local Government Area. Effiong also instructed that the other officers present at the scene be identified and arrested.
The video, viewed by our correspondent, shows a policeman holding a rifle in his left hand and a whip in his right. He uses the whip twice on the man’s leg and slaps him twice, demanding in pidgin that he keep moving. Although other gun‑bearing operatives are present, none intervene to stop the assault. The man, dressed in white, repeatedly asks the officer, “Did I steal?” When he grabs the whip, he receives another slap and is again ordered to move. A female voice from the background calls to the man, “Come, let’s go.” A few minutes later, the man covers his face and walks toward a car parked by the highway. The exact nature of the alleged offence for which the man was being assaulted could not be determined at the time of reporting.
The arrest order was issued in a statement signed by State Police Public Relations Officer Grace Iringe‑Koko on Monday. Effiong assured the public that the officers involved will be investigated in accordance with the rules governing police conduct and that appropriate sanctions will follow. The statement read in part: “Following the identification of the policemen shown in a viral video harassing and assaulting an unidentified man at Elibrade junction, Emohua, the Rivers State Command Commissioner, Okon Effiong, has ordered the immediate arrest of the officers indicated. As a defender of human rights, the CP assures members of the public that the police officers will be investigated in line with extant rules underlying the conduct of police personnel; and appropriate sanctions will be meted accordingly.”
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