NSCDC operative allegedly leads vigilantes to assault police officer in Bauchi

A police officer attached Azare Area Command in Bauchi, Suleiman Umar, was allegedly brutalized by a group of vigilantes led by an operative of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in the state on Saturday.

The police officer was injured on the head, shoulder and other parts of the body during the assault by the NSCDC operative and his team.

In a chat with journalists on Sunday, Umar said the NSCDC operative, Hassan Usman, led a team of hunters in the state to attack him despite identifying himself as a police officer.

The victim said he was brutalized by the team without any provocation.

He said: “Yesterday, 14th January, 2023, I went to drop my children at school and was returning and heading towards our family house to greet them around the Emir’s Palace roundabout. And while I was driving, I got to this place, Gwabba area of Bauchi metropolis, there was a Hilux van belonging to Baushe Hunters which parked on the middle of the road, they were trying to get at a Keke NAPEP commercial driver who drove recklessly in front of them.

“So, since I was behind them and had no business with them, I drove past and they started abusing me. So I asked them why they were abusing me and I drove on. When I got close to the roundabout close to the Emir’s Palace, I got down and tried to enter our family house in the area.

“Suddenly, they parked close to me, alighted from their vehicle and moved towards me. Immediately they got to me, the leader of the team, a personnel of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps, one ASC Hassan Usman, brought out a cable and started flogging me with it.

READ ALSO: NSCDC arrests 30-year- old for raping minor in Adamawa

“I told him, don’t beat me, I’m a Superintendent of Police, what have I done to you,? But he refused to stop. He was in uniform and was with some men of Baushe Hunters. In fact, one of the hunters told him to stop saying that he knows me as a police officer. He did not stop even though my gun was in my hand.”

The spokesman for the state police command, Ahmed Wakil, confirmed the incident.

He said the state’s Commissioner of Police, Aminu Alhassan, had ordered an immediate investigation into the incident.

He said: “We received a complaint of criminal conspiracy and assault from SP Suleiman Umar on January 14, 2023.

“The Commissioner of Police has directed that a discreet investigation be carried out and those found wanting should be made to face the full wrath of the law.”

In its reaction, the Bauchi State Command of the NSCDC described the incident as unfortunate.

The corps, however, denied that its operative was involved in the assault of the police officer.

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now