Despite hardcore evidence, police claim video of Bauchi shooting is fake

From Hassan Ibrahim, Ahmed Muhammad, Bauchi Bauchi State Police Command has distanced itself from a viral video which captured the gunning down a protester in Azare, Katagum Local Government Area of Bauchi. Daily Trust had reported how a security operatives seen in a viral video gunned down the protester. The unidentified protester was pinned to […]

From Hassan Ibrahim, Ahmed Muhammad, Bauchi

Bauchi State Police Command has distanced itself from a viral video which captured the gunning down a protester in Azare, Katagum Local Government Area of Bauchi.

Daily Trust had reported how a security operatives seen in a viral video gunned down the protester.

The unidentified protester was pinned to the ground by some persons who hit him repeatedly. Shortly after, his killer who was standing beside a white Toyota Hilux van belonging to security operatives, moved closer.

After hitting him twice, the officer point his riffle directly at the victim and immediately pulled the trigger.

Daily Trust fact checked the video and found it to be authentic.

However in a statement on Tuesday, Public Relations Officer of Bauchi Police Command, SP Ahmed Mohammed Wakil, said, “The Command wishes to emphatically debunk this video and the accompanying news publications. These claims are untrue and misleading. No such inhumane act incident was recorded by the command at the mentioned location or any other part of the state. The video is fabricated, and it is important for the public to know that the police were not involved in any such incident.

“Prior to the nationwide protests, the 22nd Indigenous Inspector General of Police IGP Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, issued a directive on July 31, 2024, that all officers are to appear in camouflage uniforms with a red band on the left-hand side. This is to provide clear identification of all policemen deployed nationwide.

“In light of this, the video in circulation does not portray or indict any policeman as published by some sections of social media.”

Wakil further disclosed that the Command had constituted a team of investigators comprised of seasoned detectives which has been tasked to aggregate all allegations, suspicions and insinuations from various sources and undertake a professional, diligent and timely investigation to establish evidence, clearing all doubts and ensure that justice is manifestly served through a meticulous process that will deploy all requisite protocols which may include exhumation of the death body if any, as well as technical and scientific tools that are vital to the detailed investigation of allegations of this nature.

“The Commissioner of Police Bauchi State Command Auwal Musa Mohammed, calls on the Media Practitioners not to relent in their firm commitments and dedication to ensure global best practice of ethical investigative journalism, aimed at seeking the truth and establishing national cohesion and patriotism to our great nation, Nigeria.”