The spokesperson of the Nigeria Police Force, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, has said that in a situation where a policeman slaps a ‘civilian’, the person has no constitutional right to retaliate.
He made this comment on Sunday via his Twitter account in reaction to a now-viral video of a man dragging a rifle with a policeman during a heated argument, the police spokesman stated that if a person should assault police personnel in uniform, it would be seen as ‘an act of disrespect to Nigeria.’
He advised that rather than taking law into their hands, the civilian should file a complaint with the law enforcement agency.
He said, “Even if a policeman on uniform slaps a civilian, the civilian has no right to retaliate. More so, if he’s on uniform, it’s an act of disrespect to Nigeria to beat an officer on uniform. The disrespect is not to the policeman but to our nation and it’s a crime as enshrined in our criminal laws.
“So, it’s not a case of what the policeman did that led to it, but the reaction of the civilians who actually assaulted the police. If police assault a civilian, you report and actions will be taken to rebuke him, not to take the law into your hands.” (sic)
