A former Commissioner of Police in Lagos State, Mohammed Dikko Abubakar, has recounted how he was once “arrested” by officers under his command during an unannounced patrol.

In a personal reflection, Abubakar, who later rose to become Nigeria’s Inspector General of Police in 2012, shared the incident to highlight leadership, discipline, and the value of mercy in command.

He said the incident occurred on a Saturday when he decided to get to his office ahead of a 10:00 a.m. appointment. While driving through Herbert Macaulay Way in Lagos, he stopped to check on police officers at a checkpoint.

“One of the officers, a constable, flagged me down and asked, ‘Good morning, young man. Where are you going in your father’s Jeep?’ He asked for my ID, and I asked to see his first. He didn’t have any,” Abubakar recalled.

The situation escalated when the constable called his superior, a sergeant, who also insisted on seeing his ID. Abubakar played along as they took him to the Yaba Police Station, unaware of his identity.

At the station, things worsened when an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), dressed in shorts, ordered him inside an office. “I refused because he wasn’t in uniform. He pushed me, and I pulled him back,” he said.

It was only after a station staffer compared his face with the Commissioner’s photo on the wall that panic set in. “The ASP and the sergeant jumped out the window when they realised who I was.”

Soon, the Area Commander called to confirm that the DPO, the ASP, and others involved had been detained, awaiting his decision.

Abubakar, however, chose not to dismiss them. “Over 100 families came to beg. One man said the officer was the only one from his village. I realised dismissing one man could hurt 30 others,” he said.

He used the incident as a lesson in restraint. “Leadership is not always about punishment. Sometimes, mercy speaks louder and teaches a deeper lesson.”