Edo Man Cries Out Over Police Assault As Video Captures Confrontation With Officers In Benin City

A man has accused Nigerian police officers in Benin City, Edo State, of harassment after sharing a video showing a heated confrontation between him and some officers.

In the video, which has circulated on social media, the visibly distressed man repeatedly appealed to Nigerians while recording the encounter.

“Nigerians, come and see what police officers are doing to me,” he said.

He also accused the officers of assaulting him, saying, “See what police are doing to me, everybody. I will post you guys on the internet. You’re dragging my neck and shirt. I am recording you.”

The man insisted that he had complied with the officers’ request by presenting his driver’s licence.

“Is it not driver’s licence I showed you?” he asked.

One of the police officers, whose face was captured in the video, questioned the ownership of the licence presented by the man.

“Is that your own driver’s licence? You will regret your actions today,” the officer was heard saying.

The circumstances leading to the confrontation were not immediately clear, and it could not be independently verified whether the man had committed any traffic or other offence before the altercation.

SaharaReporters also reported that a Nigerian police officer recently sparked outrage on social media after he was captured in a video telling a motorist that he was “lucky not to be Igbo” during a heated exchange over an alleged demand for a bribe.

The incident, which has been widely shared online, reportedly involved a Nigerian who had just returned from the United Kingdom and was stopped by police officers at a checkpoint.

According to the motorist, he refused to give the officer money after being stopped, insisting that he had committed no offence and that the officer should carry out his official duties instead of demanding a bribe.

In the video, the motorist identified himself as the owner of the vehicle, saying, “I came from UK and I am the owner.”

The police officer, however, dismissed the statement, replying, “Go and do better thing.”

When the motorist said, “I don’t have anything Oga. If I have, I would have given you,” the officer responded with remarks that have since drawn widespread criticism.

“I just want to see how you are going to behave. If you are another person, Igbo or others, I will just carry you go (to the station). If you don’t have anything, go and park,” the officer said.

The motorist then demanded the return of his driver’s licence, asking, “Then can I have my driving licence? Wetin I do na?”

Instead of explaining any alleged traffic violation or inspecting the vehicle’s documents, the officer repeatedly ordered him to leave the scene.

“Go and park,” the officer said.

The motorist insisted that the officer had not checked any of his documents and challenged him to perform his official responsibilities.

“You no check my documents, do your job, I won’t give you anything,” he said.

The video circulating online is accompanied by claims that the officer also threatened to slap the motorist during the confrontation.

The officer’s reference to the Igbo ethnic group has particularly generated condemnation on social media, with many Nigerians describing the comment as discriminatory and unbecoming of a law enforcement officer.

An X user, Abiola Oshodi, wrote: "’If you were Igbo, I would have detained you.’ This is tribal profiling and armed robbery in uniform. @PoliceNG @BenHundeyin, is this the training and orientation ur men receive at the police academy? To extort citizens and weaponise ethnicity? This brazen lawlessness.”