The Osun State Chapter Committee for the Defense of Human Rights, CDHR, has condemned the alleged unprovoked attack by personnel of the Nigeria Police against personnel of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps in Osogbo.

DAILY POST earlier reported that there was a clash between personnel of both security agencies on Tuesday, October 22 and Wednesday, October 23 at Elizabeth Estate, Osogbo.

Following the clash and the subsequent arrest and detention of NSCDC personnel by the Osun State Police Command, the State Commandant, Michael Adaralewa has insisted on a thorough investigation into the matter to bring those found guilty to justice.

A statement by Adeleke Kehinde, the NSCDC Command in Osun disclosed that the police operatives in Oyo stormed the property which was secured by NSCDC personnel to arrest some suspected criminals before they were assaulted.

On the other hand, the Osun State Police Command, speaking through its spokesman, Yemisi Opalola, said the police personnel were from the Oyo State Police Command and were on a mission to arrest a suspected criminal.

Opalola said the NSCDC personnel prevented them from arresting the criminal and in the process beat and injured two police officers and deflated the tires of their vehicle.

However, she revealed that an investigation is underway to resolve the matter.

CDHR Osun, in a statement by its president, Emmanuel Olowu, on Saturday expressed concern over the incident, saying: “After carefully reviewing the press statements issued by both organizations involved, it has become apparent that the police have assumed a position of supremacy over the NSCDC, undermining the rights and dignity of fellow law enforcement officers. To us, this attitude of the group of police officers threatens the integrity of the Nigeria Police Force and poses a grave risk to the lives of ordinary Nigerians.

“If a security personnel can be attacked in such a way in broad daylight, a civilian will be killed and thrown into the sea.”

He also said: “The problem of police brutality, assault and illegal detention persisted for seventeen (17) years in Nigeria between 2000 and 2017. The campaign to end the operation of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) lasted for three (3) good years of social media campaigns between 2017 and 2020 culminating in the tragic events of October 20, 2020 in Lekki, Lagos State.

“We should not forget so soon that the unethical and unprofessional practices of the police led to the protest which ultimately claimed many lives, destroyed property across the country and subjected the Nigerian government to wastage of resources to mitigate the effect the protest caused for a long time. police brutality in Nigeria.

“Four years after the EndSARS protest, the Nigerian government has not implemented the recommendation of the EndSARS judicial panel held across the country, which is why the police on October 23, 2024, brutalized NSCDC officers at Elizabeth Estate, Osogbo, Osun State. It is alarming to note that despite existing regulations prohibiting the use of private vehicles for official police operations and enforcing professional conduct within the police, we continue to witness a flagrant disregard for the rule of law. The recent actions of the police, including their unprofessional appearance – highlighted by officers wearing jackets over ‘ANKARA’ canvas – reflect a worrying backsliding that should merit the attention of Nigerian civil society because if we don’t check the police now, it could be our turn tomorrow .

“For us in CDHR, the conduct displayed during the assault on NSCDC personnel is unacceptable and we will not relent until justice is done because the viral video reported that the officer’s uniform was torn, he was brutally assaulted beyond description, disarmed , handcuffed as a habitual offender, before being forcibly taken to Ataoja Division and later transferred to the State Police Headquarters and held in detention from 23 October 2024 to 25 October 2024, despite the intervention of the team of senior officers of the NSCDC .

“We in Osun CDHR were shocked by the NSCDC account that the police requested that if they could identify the officer they would release him, however after identification the police failed to release him, they kept him in custody without treatment. , for us such actions cannot and should not be justified under any circumstances.

“It comes as a shock to us that in this 21st century the police are still making arrests without proper identification or production of search warrants. If the police can intimidate and harass NSCDC personnel and subject them to illegal detention under the supervision of a state police commissioner, despite the intervention of the senior NSCDC team of officers, then the common man and his family could be slaughtered, tortured. and electrocuted among other forms of severe torture.”

Olowu, while calling for the immediate intervention of the Police Service Commission to investigate the unethical practices of men in the Nigeria Police, also called on all stakeholders in the Nigerian security system, civil society organizations and non-governmental organizations to jointly pressure the police service. Commission to launch a thorough investigation into this matter.

He also demanded that the perpetrators be held accountable.