Police beat gold seller in Festac over digital scale, CP summons officers

The Lagos State Police Command has started investigating a viral video showing police officers assaulting a gold seller in Festac, and the details are deeply troubling. The incident happened on Friday, and the victim shared videos on Saturday alleging that officers attached to Area E Command stopped him while he was delivering a gold necklace to a customer. They searched him, found nothing incriminating, but then questioned his digital scale, accusing him of using it to weigh cannabis.

According to the man, the officers ordered him to accompany them to the station, but he refused because he had committed no offence and he became suspicious because the officers were not properly dressed in police uniforms and their vehicle had no registration number. He alleged that they dragged him, hit him on the head with a gun, and physically assaulted him. A follow-up video showed an injury near his eye, and he claimed one officer instructed his colleagues to open fire before they fled the scene.

The police command, in a statement on its X account, confirmed: "The Lagos State Police Command has seen the video and has commenced an investigation into the incident. The officers involved have been identified as personnel attached to Area E Command." It added that CP Tijani Fatai has ordered the Area Commander to produce the officers at the Command Headquarters. My question is simple: if these men were not in proper uniform and their vehicle had no plate number, how many other innocent Nigerians have they terrorised this way before someone caught them on camera?