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Ophoke Armstrong Amobi, a writer and podcaster behind KAATruths, has shared his encounter with police officers in Abuja and in Lagos.
He explained that he has lived in Abuja for years and has been stopped by the police just a few times.
He then shared the last encounter with the police in Lagos that made him ashamed of being a Nigerian.
He wrote: 'I have been in Abuja for almost a decade, and in those nearly ten years, the police have stopped me only about two or three times. But in just three days in Lagos, I have been stopped and searched four times, including early this morning, by police officers who looked like criminals and smelt like they smoked a pack of cigarettes every hour.
'One told me to step out of the vehicle so they could search me. I simply asked what reasonable suspicion they had to demand that. The officer, seeing a white lady with me, looked at me angrily and said, “Oga, this is Nigeria oh, no be America where them dey quote law. No dey ask me questions.”
'I felt so ashamed as a Nigerian. In his head, even as a supposed defender of the law, he was boldly reminding me that this is a country where the police do not care about the rights of citizens.
'And he was proud of that.
'When I stepped out, he asked me what I did for a living.
'By the time I finished answering his question, he was already halfway to someone else. Realising that I was someone he needed to be careful with, he simply said in an unhappy voice, “Oga, dey go.”
'And that made me even sadder. What this means is that if you are an ordinary citizen without a high profile, you will be taken advantage of and treated in the most disrespectful and violent way by police officers who should be protecting the vulnerable.
'Well, they should prepare to see me more often in this Lagos. But for now, make I go rest small for Abuja fess. I’m still a birthday baby. Not old enough for stress.
'But the Nigeria Police Force should be mindful of those they hand uniforms and gvns to. Majority of the police force have become an embarrassment to the image of the force.'
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