By Pascal Ibe
Claim
A social media influencer, Uche Nworah, claimed that a video of security operatives bursting into a home happened in Nigeria’s Southeast.
Verdict
This claim is MISLEADING. An X user who first shared the video on July 25th disclosed that the incident occurred in Ado-Ekiti in Ekiti State, Nigeria’s South-West.
Full Text
Police in Nigeria commit extrajudicial killings, torture, rape, and extortion with relative impunity. Nigeria Police Force personnel routinely carry out summary executions of persons accused or suspected of crime; rely on torture as a principal means of investigation; commit rape of both sexes, with a particular focus on sex workers; and engage in extortion at nearly every opportunity.
The Nigerian government has acknowledged these problems and promised to address them in the past, but to date, abuses have continued with no real accountability. Nigeria’s leadership must pay serious attention to police reform if it hopes to succeed in restoring public safety.
In 2020, Nigeria was rocked by nationwide protests over police brutality following claims of violence, sexual assault, and kidnapping by a special unit called the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS). Yet the police brutality will not just stop.
A social media influencer, Uche Nworah, lamenting over the persistence of these harassments, published a video showing security operatives breaking into a home and claimed that the incident occurred in Nigeria’s Southeast.
Hé posted the video and video and wrote, “We have created a culture of violent, opportunistic behaviour in the Southeast under the guise of combating insecurity. Any armed, hooded, and untrained individual, accompanied by his mates who are probably drugged out, can invade your home and carry out various acts of aggression, as evidenced in this undated video. There are no proper protocols in place, and human rights are not respected. When will this terror end? Imagine if children were living in the house.
The post generated many angry reactions as Facebook users condemned the act.
Verification
FACTWATCH Nigeria cut out some parts of the video and subjected them to a Google Lens Search, and the results led us to an X post by Michael d preacher, who disclosed that the incident happened in Ekiti State.
Hé posted the video with a caption that reads, “As of today, Operation Flush in Ado-Ekiti attempted a daylight robbery at an apartment in Adebayo, Ado-Ekiti, by forcefully attacking the premises. This isn’t their first time, but today we have the evidence to stand up for our rights. #saveUs #NANSAdoekiti #PoliceProtest
Responding via its official handle, the Police Complaint Response Unit requested further information to aid its investigation.
The Police Complaint Response Unit wrote, “Dear #MichealFrosh32, kindly provide more details via DM Thank you for bringing this to the attention of the Police force. #NoToImpunity.”
Conclusion
Police brutality continues to happen everywhere in Nigeria daily.. However, findings indicated that this video is not from the Southeast part of the country.
