Policemen accused of phone theft arrested in Anambra

The Anambra State Police Command said it has identified the officers allegedly fingered in a viral video of telephone theft in a community in Otuocha Local Government Area of the state.

In a video that circulated on social media on Wednesday, a resident of the area narrated how police officers from the Otuocha Police Division invaded their houses and forcefully took away mobile phone sets that people were charging.

The voice, who identified himself as a resident of the community, said the heavily armed police officers invaded the locations in a commando-like style, unplugged the telephones from the sockets, one by one, and carted them away for no reason.

According to the voice in the three-minute video, the police officers invaded their community late on Tuesday and carted an undisclosed number of telephones.

He, therefore begged the police authorities in the state to look into the situation and returned the telephones to the owners.

In the video, the residents blocked a major road in the community and used it to protest the action.

The development generated reactions from different quarters with residents calling for a probe of the police officers’ action.

But while reacting to the development in a statement on Thursday, the Anambra State Police spokesman, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, said the command had identified the officers involved in the act.

Ikenga called on the victims whose telephones were forcefully taken to come forward to help facilitate the necessary action involved in the investigation.

He said, “The Anambra State Police Command has intercepted a video of a protest against police action and wishes to state that the police team and the officers mentioned in the video have been identified.

“The command also invites the victims to come forward to help facilitate the necessary action involved in the investigation.

“To this end, the Commissioner of Police, CP Nnaghe Obono Itam, calls for calm and urges citizens to utilise the channels of the complaint against police officers rather than being unruly as seen in the video blocking the express road, thereby infringing on the fundamental rights of others which is the very course citizens want to protect.

“We seek for a police that is civil and professional in discharging their duties. Aggrieved residents should make use of police complaint channels to express any grievances.

“These channels include the CP Monitoring Unit of Command, the Police X-Squad under the State Criminal Investigation Department Police Complaints Bureau or the newly resuscitated Complaint Response Unit under the Police Public Relations Department Awka.

“You can call the Command Control Room at 07039194332 or the Police Public Relations Officer at 08039334002 in the event of any distress. Also download the ‘NPF Rescue Me App’, usable on Android and Apple iOS phones, to make reports. Further details shall be communicated, please.”