By Suleiman Anyalewechi
For subjecting a middle aged man to a grueling act of brutalization, Anayo Ekezie, a policeman attached to the Safer Highway Unit of the Imo State Command, has been demoted to the rank of a Corporal.
He was of the rank of a Sergeant before he was found guilty of torturing his victim with a smoke gunner along the Owerri/Aba Road.
The Source reports that a viral video showing some policemen brutalizing a man on the road had, a few days ago, provoked public outrage, a development that prompted the Police authorities to initiate a probe.
A statement on Thursday May 8, 2025 from the Command’s spokesperson, Henry Okoye DSP, informed that demoted officer Ekezie was identified as the main culprit in the dehumanization of the victim.
According to him, the demotion followed an Orderly Room Trial of the officers identified in the video.
Similarly, for failing to live up to their supervisory roles ,Inspectors Ofem Obongha and Obinna Okereke ,who were with Ekezie at the time of the incident, were seriously reprimanded the Police Command spokesman disclosed.
“Following a review of the video, the Command conducted an Orderly Room Trial in line with the Nigeria Police Force disciplinary procedures.
“Sgt Ekezie was found guilty of using his issued smoke gunner in the assault ,and has been demoted to the rank of Corporal.
“Inspectors Obongha ,and Okereke were severely reprimanded for failing to exercise proper supervisory control ,which allowed the unprofessional conduct to occur .
“The Imo state Commissioner of Police, CP Aboki Danjuma, while condemning the conduct of the officers, also, reaffirmed the Command’s zero tolerance for unprofessional conducts.
He also described the action of the officers,as a gross violation of the Service’s Code of Conduct and human rights standards.
This is just as the Command urged the public to continue to report incidents of misconducts by police officers to the appropriate Units.
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