PRESS RELEASE 6th August 2024
The editors,
NATIONWIDE PROTEST: Police distance itself from purported video, CP warned purveyors of misinformation to stay clear… orders a discreet investigation.
The attention of the Bauchi State Police Command has been drawn to a purported video circulating online and in some sections of the media that claims security operatives gunned down a protester in Azare on Monday, August 5, 2024.
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 PhD, NPM, 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.
The Command has 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.
Protest: This is no longer peaceful protests, it is sponsored! -X Lady
The Commissioner of Police Bauchi State Command CP Auwal Musa Mohammed, psc, Anipr, 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.
Ordinarily, the command would have overlooked this issue, but it has become expedient to set the record, as some members of the public are being misled by some section of the media.
The Command, under the stewardship of CP MM Auwal, is committed to maintaining high standards of professionalism, accountability, and justice. He also calls on members of the public to disregard this misinformation and always verify information through official channels.
SP Ahmed Mohammed Wakil, Anipr
Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO)
For: Commissioner of Police,
Bauchi State Command.