How fake video forced police boss to reform SARs, others within 72 hours

Since October 4 when a video showing an armed member of a special police unit rough-handled by a civilian while a victim, allegedly shot, was lying on the road close to a damaged car at Ughelli, Delta, the police authorities, as condemnation increases, have been tweaking up the range of ops and tamping down on the powers of SARS and other police special units in Nigeria.

It, however, tuns out the viral video was misleading, according to the Delta State Police Command and the state government.

In a statement issued by its Police Public Relations Officer, Onome Onovwakpoyeya, on Monday in Asaba, the police said, “The allegations and the said online videos about SARS operatives killing a young man in Ughelli are not only false, malicious and erroneous but also misleading. The victim was neither shot nor killed by the policemen.

“The policemen involved are not SARS operatives as earlier reported. The allegation is the handiwork of criminally minded people, who do not see anything good in the police, but want Delta State to be in turmoil.

“On 3rd of October, 2020 at about 1600hrs, Operatives of Safe Delta Squad in Ughelli, while on patrol along Warri/Ughelli by Wetland Hotel Ughelli, observed a white coloured Lexus Jeep without registration number that suddenly parked by the roadside which on sighting police patrol team, the driver immediately zoomed off at high speed in a suspicious manner.

“Consequently, the team gave them a hot chase and they successfully intercepted the vehicle and arrested the two occupants.

“On their way to the station with the arrested suspects inside the police patrol vehicle, one of the suspects jumped out of the moving vehicle and sustained body and head injuries.

“While trying to rescue him, an angry mob came out to attack the policemen, which made the team to leave the scene with the other suspect in their patrol vehicle to their office to avoid a violent confrontation with the mob.”

Also, the state Commissioner for information, Charles Aniagwu, and his counterpart, in the Ministry of Youth Development, Ifeanyi Egwuyanga, said, “Nobody was shot; the man in question was arrested, but out fear, the man jumped out of the vehicle and got injured.”

But the clarifications were coming after IGP Mohammaed Adamu had orders the SARS and other special units to stop patrol operation, checkpoint, stop-and-search, and arrest of suspects.