The Enugu State police command on Monday dismissed a viral video ordering personnel to “desert the streets, their office, duty posts and remain confined” in their barracks in the state.
Daniel Ndukwe, the police spokesperson in the state command, disclosed this in a statement today.
The viral video clip, which surfaced online recently, claimed the order was given by authorities of the police in Enugu State due to rising insecurity in the state.
Ndukwe, a deputy superintendent of police, however, described the claim in the viral video clip as “unfounded, false and misleading.”
He said those behind the viral video clip were “mischief makers” seeking to cause panic among residents of the state.
“Consequently, it is important to state, for the avoidance of doubt, that the commissioner of police (in the state) did not at any point issue such orders, directing personnel of the command to abandon their duties and be confined to barracks, as purported and being circulated, neither did he delegate any of his immediate lieutenants to issue same,” he said.
Ndukwe stressed that the Nigeria Police Force remained a “fully regimented agency of the government with clearly defined channels of internal and external communication”.
It was impossible that the police would make such a message public, instead of directing it to its personnel, Ndukwe said.
He stated further that the Commissioner of Police in Enugu State, Ahmed Ammani, has asked residents of the state to disregard the viral video.
The commissioner of police reiterated that the state police command remain, “focused and committed to professionally discharge its duties on a daily basis” in line with the statutory mandates of the force.
Police officers and officials of other security agencies have been the targets of deadly attacks mainly in the South-east and South-south by gunmen linked to Biafra agitation in the two regions.
Recall that several Nigerian security officials have been killed in attacks across the two regions.
Security checkpoints and various divisional police headquarters have been frequently attacked in the regions.
The Indigenous People of Biafra, a group leading the agitation for the creation of an independent state of Biafra from the South-east and some parts of South-south, has been accused of being responsible for the deadly attacks in the two regions. But the group has repeatedly denied any involvement in the attacks.
