NOT ABOVE THE LAW: Policemen Beat up Soldier For Refusing to Wear Face Mask

A soldier was beaten up on Saturday, May 9, by a combined team of policemen and officials of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSDC) in Edo state for reportedly refusing to wear a face mask.

The Tribune newspaper reports that the incident occurred at the Lagos Street/Oba Market Street junction in downtown Benin. A witness said the soldier who was in the company of his wife refused to wear face mask despite repeated calls by the police officers and NSCDC officials.



According to the witness, trouble began when one of the policemen pushed the soldier’s wife with a gun in a bid to make her wear the mask. An argument was said to have ensued and later escalated when the policemen reportedly descended on the soldier and injured him on the head with the butt of the gun.

Some soldiers were said to have stormed the area for a reprisal attack, however, calm was restored after the intervention of top officers of the Nigerian Army and the state police command.

However, it earlier reported that A police inspector identified as Felix Egbon was shot dead in Edo state on Friday, May 8, by suspected hoodlums after he was attacked. According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the policemen attached to Auchi division of the Edo state police command was enforcing the curfew imposed by the federal government alongside his colleagues.

The police public relations officer, Chidi Nwabuzor, confirming the incident in Benin, on Saturday, May 8, said a manhunt had been launched to arrest the attackers. He said the late police inspector and some officers were attacked while enforcing the curfew imposed by the federal government to check the spread of COVID-19.

He said: “While on it, some mob attacked them, during the attack, unknown hoodlums emerged and shot at the deceased officer. “The officer was immediately rushed to the Central Hospital in Auchi, where he was pronounced dead. A serious manhunt is presently ongoing to arrest the hoodlums whose numbers can not be ascertained.”