Police assault man for recording scuffle with dispatch rider in Lagos

An officer attached to the Ketu Police Division A of the Lagos State Police Command yesterday assaulted one Charles Gabriel, leaving him with a swollen face after the latter recorded a scuffle between a police officer and a dispatch rider.

The Guardian learnt that Gabriel was on his way to pick up his car from a mechanic when he witnessed the scuffle between the dispatch rider and a police officer.

He allegedly brought out his phone to make a video recording. The policeman, however, snatched the phone and smashed it on the floor. Not done, the officer beat Gabriel, leaving him bruised and with a swollen face.

Gabriel’s wife, Chika, said: “Someone who saw my husband called me. I went to the police station and saw my husband and could not recognise him. His face was bruised and swollen. When I asked the police officers at the station, they said he was beaten up for making a video. The Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Ketu, Afolabi Kazeem, told me that making videos of officers on duty is a crime, and they will take him (Gabriel) to court.”

When contacted, the spokesperson for the Lagos State Police Command, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, said: “It is not a crime to make a video of a police officer. I will investigate the matter and what transpired.”

The Force Public Relations Officer (FPRO), Olumuyiwa Adejobi, has often stated that filming or photographing police officers during their duty is not considered an offence.