Victor EzejaMixed reactions have continued to trail comments by the United Kingdom (UK) Conservative Party leader, Kemi Badenoch, who accused Nigeria police operatives of indulging in criminality while discharging their duties.
Badenoch, who is currently the opposition leader, had in an interview recently, accused officers of the Nigeria Police Force of corruption and harassment, including theft.
In an interview with The Free Press, Badenoch alleged that Nigerian police used guns to intimidate and rob citizens.
“The police in Nigeria would rob us. The police stole my brother’s shoes and his watch. It’s a very poor country, so people do all sorts of things and giving people a gun is just a licence to intimidate,” Badenoch stated.
She said such was not the case with the UK police, who according to her, were very helpful and go after criminals who torment citizens.
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Born in 1980 to Yoruba parents in the UK, she spent her early years in Nigeria before returning to the UK at 16.
Her comments drew reactions. While some citizens and those in authority dismissed her claims, others insisted that she did not lie about what the Nigerian police do.
The Nigerian presidency dismissed her comments as a “cock and bull story.”
In a post on X, President Bola Tinubu’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Temitope Ajayi, accused Badenoch of lying.
Also, Vice President Kashim Shettima, condemned Badenoch’s claim, accusing her of “denigrating her country of origin.”
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However, Sunday Adeyemo, the Yoruba nation activist popularly known as Sunday Igboho, cautioned the Vice President to stop verbal war against the Tory leader.
Igboho said Badenoch should not be vilified for merely expressing her candid and truthful opinion on the pervasive corruption in Nigeria’s system.
He urged President Tinubu to “direct Shettima to focus on his duties as vice president rather than engage in a verbal war against Badenoch.”
Other Nigerians took to social media to narrate their experiences with the police, stating that Badenoch did not lie about the attitude of Nigerian police.
Reacting to the criticisms trailing Bandenoch’s comments, a development economist and investment banking executive, Dr Obiaraeri Nnaemeka, said the British parliamentarian did not lie about the usual experience of the average Nigerian with police.
Obiaraeri narrated his experience with officers of the Nigeria police in Umuahia Abia State on 30 November 2024, when they confiscated a bike belonging to one of his staff being conveyed to Ibadan.
“A Police Patrol team, who claim to be men of the CPS police Umuahia, around 8pm on November 30, 2024, at gunpoint snatched and confiscated a bike inside an Abia line bus from the owner [ my staff Barnabas, who was on his way to Ibadan].
“The Bike was purchased to aid his works at our agro park in Ibadan].They took the bike and left the boy stranded. Even all my entreaties to them on phone, after introducing myself did not yield any result,” Obiaraeri stated.
He added that efforts to trace and recover the bike later did not yield any result as they could not identify which station the officers came from and where it was kept.
He said UK Police is not notorious for robbing UK citizens, mounting roadblocks and extorting money from commuters with threats of wasting their lives for non compliance.
He urged the Nigerian authorities to focus on solving country’s problems rather than attacking Badenoch over her comments.
An X user, John Ezeakolam hailed Badenoch, saying she should not be attacked for speaking the truth.
Another X user, Kingsley Paragon, said those attacking Kemi Badenoch for her comment are contributing to the failure in the Nigerian system.
He pointed out that many Nigerians are struggling to leave the country because of harsh realities.
“It is disheartening to see failed politicians criticize Kemi for stating the obvious truth.
“She most likely endured the decayed Nigerian system before migrating to the UK.
“She migrated without any state assistance. After suffering suffocation in Nigeria and finding a place where she can thrive, you expect her to owe Nigeria some PR? If she had done something bad, some Nigerians would have been quick to disown her.”
He chided Nigerians for criticising the Tory leader over her comments, instead of calling out elected officials who are busy mismanaging the economy, and plunging the people into abject poverty.
“You will not call out your elected officials. You will remain silent. Instead, you will stage ethnic fights and spread hatred just to keep the evil ones in power.
“Kemi has finally escaped the trap and is ready to thrive, yet you expect her to play PR and cover up for the dirty, poisonous snakes in the corridors of power,” he further stated.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with six years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Masters degree in Mass Communication.
