By Damilare Adeleye
The Nigeria Police Force has conspicuously kept silence over the grievous comment on its operatives’ unprofessional conduct as made by the leader of the United Kingdom Conservative Party, Kemi Badenoch.
In a recent interview with a UK journalist, Kemi Badenoch accused the Nigeria Police of robbing citizens, saying that her brother’s shoe and watch were stolen by some officers.
She further added that men in the Nigeria Police usually deploy the guns and weapons in their possession to intimidate citizens they supposed to protect.
Asked if she trusted the UK police, Badenoch responded in the video clip that emerged on Sunday: “I do. My experience with the Nigeria Police was very negative. Coming to the UK, my experience with the British Police was very positive.
“The police in Nigeria will rob us (laughter). When people say I have this bad experience with the police because I’m black, I say well…I remember the police stole my brother’s shoe and his watch.”
The interviewer, who was obviously shocked by the revelation, exclaimed: “They took his shoe and his watch?”
“It’s a very poor country. People do all sorts of things. So, giving people a gun is just a license to intimidate. But that’s not just the problem,” Kemi Badenoch continued.
“That is not the bar we should use for the British Police. When I was burgled, for example, the police were there. They were helpful before they eventually caught the person. This was in 2004, that was 20 years ago.”
Checks by our reporter indicated that the Nigeria Police headquarters has not issued any statement in defense or rebuttal of the Kemi’s allegations.
Also, efforts to speak with ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, the Force Public Relations Officer, on the matter were also unsuccessful as calls to his phone number were not going through.
NETIZENS WEIGH IN
Shortly after British Conservative Party leader shared comments about the Nigeria police, some netizens on X began recounting their experiences via their handles.
A user identified as Daughter_Of_Richard recounted an incident in 2021 when she and her friends were arrested shortly after celebrating her birthday.
She said, “In 2021, I was arrested 10 minutes after my birthday. They picked up my friends and me while we were walking home. There were three of us. They dropped us off and went out to pick up other people. That night, they made about four trips, picking people up to extort bail money.”
Similarly, Tee (@lutosinGBELA) shared a distressing story from 2007. She alleged that was arrested with four others, adding that they were detained by the police in Ikeja, Lagos. According to her, their only offence was parking in front of a bank.
She wrote, “In 2007, five of us were arrested and taken to Ikeja GRA Police Station, where we spent the night simply because we parked in front of GT Bank on Allen Avenue. We were told we had parked there because we were about to rob the bank.
“Only four of us were locked up — one was left out because he looked too corporate. Unbeknownst to us, he was released to find funds for our release. Thanks to an influential friend of ours, who owned the car in the first place, we were eventually freed after his uncle made a phone call.”
On his part, Deji Adeyanju, a legal practitioner, remarked that Nigerians cannot defend the police because the operatives still commit human rights violations and extortions.
According to him, “If you ever wonder why Nigerians hate the Nigerian Police more than they hate terrorists, all you need to know is this: SPEED DARLINGTON is still in police custody 3 weeks after for insulting Burna Boy. Insult ooo, not armed robbery, murder, kidnap or any crime!
“Nobody can defend the Nigerian police because as you are still in the process of doing so, they are embarrassing you more and committing fresh human rights violations & extortions. The image of the Nigerian police is beyond bad, it is irreparable in my view.”
Meanwhile, a Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), Zyad Ibn Isah, says the UK Metropolitan Police is far from being perfect despite rising from its messy state in the ’80s.Speaking on his social media account on Sunday, Isah maintained that the UK police had its fair share of a bad image in the ’80s before the introduction of David Rose’s reforms.
“I would recommend David Rose’s ‘In the Name of the Law’ to Kemi Badenoch. The truth is the London Metropolitan Police was a mess in the 1960s, 1970s, and even the 1980s.
“It was through various reforms and even a change of name that they became what they are today. If the questioner had asked a British citizen in the 1960s or 1970s whether they trusted the British police, I doubt they would have said yes.
“The situation was that bad. Nigeria and its police force are not perfect—we know that. But we will rise from the ashes, just like the UK and its police force. Aunty Kemi should enjoy her new pastime of denigrating her fatherland while it lasts,” said the Abuja-based Police officer.
Understandably, Kemi Badenoch has been trolling Nigeria prior to becoming leader of the UK opposition Conservative Party.
Recently, Nigeria’s Vice President, Kashim Shettima, accused Badenoch of disparaging her country of origin.
The vice-president told her that she could change her name if she wished to disassociate from Nigeria.
Following the VP’s comment, Badenoch asserted that she identifies more with her Yoruba heritage than with Nigeria as a whole.
In an interview with The Spectator, Badenoch expressed that she feels little connection to northern Nigeria, which she described as a “haven for Islamism and Boko Haram.”
“I find it interesting that everybody defines me as being Nigerian. I identify less with the country than with the specific ethnicity (Yoruba).
“I have nothing in common with the people from the north of the country, the Boko Haram where Islamism is,” she said.
