A video making the rounds on social media has captured the moment a trigger-happy police officer was assaulting a woman before shooting close to civilians when confronted for his action.
In the video, operatives attached to the Edo State Police Command were seen with some travellers they stopped by the roadside.
One of the officers is seen scolding a female traveller before telling her to enter into his vehicle.
Before the woman could comply, another officer, said to have been attached to the disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad, launched at the lady and slapped her.
Meanwhile, a male voice in the background could be heard telling the officer who hit the lady not to try it.
The voice said: “Officer, don’t try that oh, don’t try that.”
The man’s comment angered the officer, making him to point his gun at them and shot feet away from the lady.
The civilians were seen running for their lives, while other officers tried to get the officer who shot at them to calm down.
However, he refused to calm down and is seen hitting a male civilian who criticised the other officers for not reigning in the trigger-happy officer.
“Officer, you dey look am abi?” the male civilian asked other officers.
But the trigger-happy officer slapped him, while asking: “You dey mad?”
“It’s OK now,” the Officer’s colleagues told him.
But he refused and told one of his colleagues: Oga, leave me,” while still pointing his gun menacingly at civilians and cursing them.
Nigerians have condemned the unnecessary show of power and harassment and called for the authorities to look into the incident.
Activist, Harrison Gwamishu, said: “The authorities aren’t doing anything about the incident.”