Police Brutality In Nigeria Today -By Disi Prisca Tamaraubrakumor

The Nigerian police force as we know it today was formally established on April 1, 1930. This occurred when the British colonial government merged the northern and southern Nigeria police forces together. Before this merging, the a consular guard was formed in Lagos in 1861, the Hausa constabulary was established in 1879, the Royal Niger company constabulary was created in 1888, the Niger Coast constabulary was formed in Calabar in 1894 and in 1876 the Lagos police was officially established. All these groups were bought together in 1930.

The Police force originally meant to create security has been in recent times seen to cause unrest and insurgence. The Nigerian Police force now has many loopholes due to corrupt practices by the officials. Nigerian police men are now seen collecting bribes openly and harassing citizens on the road. Government officials who are supposed to take down their excesses seem to turn a blind eye to their activities. The once upright institution has now lost its dignity to cankerworms. In recent news we see different cases of police brutality being showcased, degrading the once glorious enterprise. Many cases has been seen in recent times as the agency seem become more rampant like a dog without a leach. Making citizens wonder if the law can be upheld for the masses.

One of the most prominent cases was the END SARS protest in 2020. The Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) formed by the Nigerian Police force in 1922 to combat violent crimes like robbery, kidnapping, etc
were seen to express brutality, extortion and extra judicial killings. This police unit became rampant abusing its authority and violating the masses. In 2017 a Twitter campaign #endsars wildly advocated for the unit to be disbanded. The last straw that broke the camels back was a viral video on October 3rd,2020 showing SARS officials physically assaulting and shooting a young Nigerian man in Ughelli, Delta state. This action fueled anger in the minds of Nigerians, and triggered the movement #EndSARS Protest in 2020. The #EndSARS protest against police brutality officially started on October 8, 2020 with series of physical demonstration on the streets all over Nigeria.

The protest was met with a cross road on the night of October 20, 2020, when the Nigerian military personnel of 65 Battalion arrived and opened fire on unarmed peaceful protesters at Lekki toll gate in Lagos during the #EndSARS demonstration. Although the Nigerian government denied reports of causalities, an Independent Lagos State Judicial Panel of Inquiry later investigated the event and classified it as a massacre, as the reports confirmed at least 48 unharmed protesters who were either shot dead or injured by the bullets.

It was said that the protesters were singing the national anthem and waving the Nigerian flag at them, but despite this actions the Nigerian Army reportedly used tear gas and further force against them investigations by news outlets such as BBC highlights attempts by the authorities to conceal and manipulate the actual footage later on . Although the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) no longer exists in Nigeria, the incident caused a great blow in the lives of Nigerians.

Another recent case of police brutality was the death of Oghenmine Ogidi (stage name OG million) who was a 28 year old Nigerian musician from delta state. His death sparked grief in the lives of Nigerians as he was reportedly killed on April 26, 2026. He was seen to be constrained and pleading for his life before being shot by a police officer, in a viral video. The police was said to have apprehended Oghenemine after he was finding a fire arm in the parcel he was sent to collect. Despite his cooperation and confession that the parcel belonged to a friend, he was still shot at close range. His death lead to a public outcry causing the Nigerian police force to dismiss ASP Nuhu Usman and remanded the five police officers in connection with the fatal shooting. This incident left a fatal blow on his mother has she had lost another son in an incident involving the police officers.

In conclusion, we have seen from the events above that police brutality in Nigeria is becoming very alarming. If the government doesn’t take drastic measures against them and curb their excesses, more lives will be inevitably lost. The Nigerian government should purged the police force form the grassroot level to the top showing no preferencial treatment. Everyone should be given punishment according to their crimes regardless of their status. This will create a swift change in the force, forcing out the cankerworm that is eaten deep into the institution. Government officials should also refrain from using police force for their own personal business. Such officials if caught should be punished accordingly, in other to create emphasis and make the institution better.