CYRIACUS IZUEKWE
For 22-year-old Daniel Oke, what was supposed to be a normal Monday evening walk home from work has turned into a major case of police accountability in Lagos State.
Daniel, who runs a small phone repair shop at Odogunyan in Ikorodu, was stopped by operatives of the Immortal Tactical Team around 7:30pm while heading home.
He said the officers, who were in a mini-bus, flagged him down, demanded to search his phone, and questioned his appearance.
“They asked for my phone, I gave them. They started checking my gallery, my WhatsApp. They were asking me why I have dreadlocks, why I am carrying a power bank. They were shouting, pushing me, saying I am a Yahoo boy,” Daniel told PM EXPRESS.
Fearful and alone, he remembered what many young Lagosians now do in similar situations. He discreetly alerted his friend who was a few meters away to start recording.
“I was not trying to disrespect them. I was just recording for evidence, in case anything happened. I have seen many videos like that on the internet where video saved the victim,” he said.
The 45-second clip captured voices of the officers harassing him, threatening to take him to their station if he did not “cooperate”, and demanding money for his release.
The video was posted on X (formerly Twitter) by 9pm on Monday and shared on several WhatsApp groups in Ikorodu. By Tuesday morning, it had garnered over 120,000 views and attracted the attention of activists and the Lagos State Police Command.
Acting swiftly, the State Commissioner of Police, CP Tijani Fatai, ordered the immediate identification and arrest of all officers seen in the video.
Police Public Relations Officer, SP Abimbola Adebisi, in a statement on Friday evening, confirmed that four officers had been identified, arrested, and detained at the State Headquarters in Ikeja.
“The CP has ordered the detention of the officers and the immediate disbandment of the entire team pending conclusion of disciplinary proceedings. The Nigeria Police Force under CP Fatai has zero tolerance for extortion and harassment,” SP Adebisi said.
She added that the officers will face an Orderly Room Trial and if found guilty, will be dismissed and prosecuted.
For Daniel, the response from the police authorities came as a shock.
“I did not expect it to go this far. I just wanted people to know what happened to me. When I was called by the PPRO office, I thought they wanted to arrest me again. But they called to thank me for speaking up and asked me to come and make a formal statement,” he said.
His mother, Mrs. Bose Oke, a trader at Sabo Market, Ikorodu, said she was initially terrified when she saw the video online.
“When he came home that night, his shirt was torn. He showed me the video. I told him to delete it immediately, that police will come for him in the night. I could not sleep. But now I see that speaking out can bring justice. I am proud of him,” she said.
The incident has reignited public debate on the need for body-worn cameras for tactical teams, improved training on human rights, and better identification of officers on patrol.
Human rights lawyer and convener of Ikorodu Youths for Justice, Mr. Tunde Ladipo, described Daniel’s action as courageous and timely.
“What Daniel did is what we have been advocating. Evidence is key. The fact that the CP acted swiftly shows that the Lagos Command is listening. This should be a lesson to all officers that every citizen now has a camera,” Ladipo said.
Despite the trauma, Daniel said he still has bruises on his left arm from where he was dragged.
He told PM EXPRESS that he does not want revenge, but respect.
“I don’t hate police. Many of them are good. I just want them to respect us. We are not criminals because we are young or because we have dreadlocks. We are just trying to survive in Lagos. I want this to make other policemen change,” he said.
The police command has urged other residents who have similar experiences to report through its Complaint Response Unit.