A popular video that surfaced on Friday morning showed people gathered to witness an unprofessional, inhumane and barbaric act by the Nigerian Police in the university town of Ekpoma, Esan West Local Government Area of Edo State.

The incident allegedly happened on Thursday evening when a team of police officers used their police vehicle to run over a handcuffed middle-aged man whom officers had previously ordered to lie on the ground.

However, people were alarmed when the driver of the police vehicle moved, running over the man and dragging him 100 meters on the ground while ignoring the shouts of the crowd. The incident sparked a riot in the crowd, but the angry mob was quickly dispersed by police gunfire.

Police Command said in a statement that preliminary investigations revealed that ASP Magdalene Osayande reported at around 5:00 p.m. on 29/06/2023 at Ekpoma Divisional Police Headquarters, Ekpoma, Edo states that during a routine check and search mission with his team of six (6) police officers intercepted the driver of an unregistered Lexus car along Ihumudumu Road, Ekpoma, Edo State, and asked for vehicle details. The Command said the man became aggressive and refused to comply with the officers' request, but instead attacked them, injuring them and destroying the police vehicle.

The command statement went on to say that the man identified as Success Ehimare was arrested and handcuffed prior to the incident, which is currently trending on social media. The statement said the man was later taken to the specialist hospital in Irrua for treatment.

However, CP Mohammed Adamu Dankwara reportedly condemned the actions of the officers seen in the trending video and therefore ordered the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Ekpoma, to identify the officers, arrest them and take them to the headquarters of the state police in Benin for briefing and debriefing. CP Mohammed Dankwara also called for calm.

It bears recalling that this lack of police professionalism led to the nationwide EndSARS protests of 2020.