When protectors become predators

By Ganiyat Olayinka

IF Nigeria remains the same by 2027, then let no one be surprised if war breaks out. Hunger is already chewing deep into the bone marrow of the nation. Nigerians are gasping under economic hardship, yet while poverty stares them in the face, harassment from those in uniform crushes their very spirit. Must Nigerians suffer hunger and still live under constant intimidation? The danger today is not only the bandits in the forest but also the criminals in multicolored uniforms roaming our streets. These officers — police, vigilantes, Amotekun — have turned their duty into tyranny. They trample the dignity of citizens in the mud and forget that even during an arrest, a citizen still has rights. The use of force is only lawful when a suspect attempts to flee or threatens violence, not when an officer wants to extort money. Extortion has become their trademark. Just recently, a young man on Oyo State’s Ogbomoso road made a live video, crying out to Nigerians and VeryDarkMan, as he was harassed by a police officer. His load was scattered across the road because he refused to pay ₦200. The officer shamelessly defended himself, saying: “Did I beat you?” — yet he never denied scattering the young man’s belongings or requesting ₦200. For ₦200, a man’s dignity was thrown on the highway. What then is the difference between these officers and the criminals in the bush?

At 5pm on July 13, a National Youth Service Corps member, Jennifer Eloho, was brutalised by Anambra security operatives, otherwise known as Agunechemba — vigilantes established to support police operations and safeguard local communities. Armed with guns, they stormed the corps members’ lodge in Oba, Idemili Local Government Area, accusing them of being internet fraudsters. A video of the beating went viral despite her cries for help. Jennifer was not only beaten — her dignity was thrown into the bin. If vigilantes empowered to protect communities can turn against unarmed youths serving their nation, then who is safe? In July 2025, another viral video from Adebayo area of Ado-Ekiti showed police officers trying to gain forceful entry into an apartment in broad daylight. The resident, Michael, captured the incident and shared it on X (formerly Twitter). Up till today, the police are still “investigating.” No officer has been named, no punishment announced, no justice seen. The silence of the police force is louder than any explanation — it smells of complicity. In April 2025, a lady in Ise-Orun, Ekiti State, accused a police officer of stabbing her father. Her testimony, captured on Punch Newspaper’s site, is chilling: her younger brother had a quarrel with a female classmate, which escalated until the girl called her boyfriend. When they stormed the house, they met only the elder brother. She narrated: “One of them went inside first and my brother started challenging the police officer — asking what did he do and why they were taking him to the station. In response, the officer started harassing him physically. At that point, the elder brother called my father to come and see what was happening. When my father came to separate the fight, another police officer stabbed him in the belly. Fortunately, my father used his hand to block the knife, and it tore his hand instead.”

This incident is proof of incompetence. Before any civilian is arrested at home, there must be a warrant. When police officers break into homes without reason, they act no differently from kidnappers wearing uniforms. Nigerians are right to be suspicious; even bandits now disguise as police. And so, the question “What have I done?” is no longer just a question — it is a shield of survival. But that very question killed a young man in Kwara. On November 11, 2024, at Tanke Bridge, Tipper Garage, Ilorin, witnesses saw how three police officers from Ganmo Division brutalised a Kwara State University student, Sulyman Olayinka. He had just alighted from a motorcycle and wanted to use a POS when they dragged him to the ground. According to a meat seller present: “He was asking, ‘What have I done?’ but they didn’t give him a chance. One of them cocked his gun and threatened to shoot him. They hit him with a gun on the head, kicked and handcuffed him. Then one of them started kicking him on his private part with boots. His eyes began to change, and he asked for water. He also requested his inhaler, but they ignored him. People begged them to stop, and take him to their station but their plea yielded not.” Unfortunately, the student died on the way to the hospital. The police spokesperson, TounEjire-Adeyemi, claimed: “A complaint of cheating and criminal breach of trust was reported against the deceased.” But what complaint justifies torture? What complaint justifies killing? The law does not give police the right to take life; yet they did, and life was wasted.

In January 2025, 35-year-old Abdul QuadriJimoh was allegedly tortured to death in Kwara police custody. He had been accused of owing his employer ₦220,000. The Kwara State Police Command said: “The deceased was invited on an alleged case of obtaining money by false pretence to the sum of ₦220,000.” Yet no prior investigation was carried out. His bail was denied. Access to his family was denied. Finally, life itself was denied. And now, the money cannot bring him back. The pattern is clear: Nigerian police officers and their allies in uniform act as though they are greater than the law. They flog, they extort, they torture, they kill — and nothing happens. If something really happened when they crossed the line, Sulyman would not have died, Jimoh would not have died, Jennifer would not have been beaten, and countless others would not have been silenced. The government cannot remain a spectator while those in uniform behave like predators. It must rise and cleanse the rot in the police force. Officers who brutalise citizens should not just be transferred to another station — they should face the full wrath of the law. Their trials should be public, so Nigerians know that justice still breathes.

Their welfare must also be improved, for a hungry officer with a gun is an accident waiting to happen. Training on human rights must be enforced. Technology like body cameras should be deployed, so their actions no longer hide in the shadows.

Most importantly, a civilian-led watchdog must hold them accountable, because asking the police to investigate themselves is like asking a thief to guard a vault.

If this government is truly serious about saving this country from collapse, then the first demons it must confront are those wearing uniforms but acting like beasts. Nigerians are already carrying poverty on their heads; they should not have to carry fear in their hearts when they see a policeman. The day citizens see no difference between a bandit in the forest and a policeman at a checkpoint is the day Nigeria breaks. That day is dangerously close, unless the government acts, and acts now.

•Olayinka, a 300-level student of Mass Communication at the University of Ilorin, is an intern at the Nigerian Tribune.

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