The extra-judicial killing of a 28-year-old Mene Ogidi publicly by Nuhu Usman, an assistant superintendent of police, in Delta State, has exposed the deepening culture of extra-judicial killings and other forms of cruelty in the Nigeria Police Force as rogue officers no longer kill their victims secretly behind the four walls of police stations but are now executing suspects publicly, Ejiofor Alike reports
The recent killing of a 28-year-old Mene Ogidi extra-judicially by Nuhu Usman, an assistant superintendent of police (ASP), has again demonstrated that what seemed to be the best efforts of successive Inspectors General of Police (IGs) to bring the conduct of officers and men to align with best global policing standards have evidently failed to tame brutality and impunity in the force.
The obvious failure of police reforms had manifested in October 2020 when aggrieved Nigerians, who bear the brunt of police cruelty, embarked on the killing of policemen and destruction of police stations in protest against the atrocities largely perpetrated by the disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS).
When the dust settled after the #EndSARS protests, 37 policemen were confirmed killed, and 196 others injured, while 164 police vehicles and 134 police stations were razed across the country.
Many had thought that the rogue officers and men who survived the attacks launched by hoodlums during the protests would learn lessons and turn a new leaf.
But the events of the past six years and the latest killing incident in the same Delta State where the #EndSARS protests originated, have shown that police impunity and brutality have worsened despite the disbandment of SARS.
The April 26, 2026 incident in Effurun in Delta State where ASP Usman shot and killed Ogidi publicly, was the latest indication of the growing audacity of police officers to kill citizens extra-judicially without any fear of the law or the higher authorities.
Despite Ogidi’s plea for mercy and his promise to take the police team to Sapele to arrest the principal suspect, Usman still shot and killed him in a most daring manner even when he posed no threat to the police team as he was sitting helplessly on the ground with his hands chained to his back.
The incident is a strong indication that the disbandment of SARS has not stopped the recruitment and career progression of rogue policemen whose stock-in-trade is to destroy the good image of the Nigeria Police.
It also shows that the former operatives of the disbanded SARS are still committing worse atrocities in the different units of the Nigeria Police where they were deployed.
Amnesty International and other right groups had repeatedly raised grave allegations of extra-judicial killings and other acts of impunity and brutally against many police units across the country, including the alleged notorious Tiger Base in Owerri, Imo State and the defunct dreaded SARS in Awkuzu, Anambra State.
But rather than investigate these atrocities, including allegations of organ harvesting and punish the perpetrators, the police authorities allegedly shielded the culprits because of their alleged political contacts as well as their high connections in the force.
Before the advent of social media, police image makers were defending the atrocities of policemen.
However, the social media has exposed these evils and made it difficult for the police authorities to sweep the atrocities of their men under the carpet.
Videos of police officers and men extorting, harassing and brutalising innocent Nigerians are all over social media.
It was the video recording of the recent Delta killing and its posting on social media that provoked outrage and nailed ASP Usman.
The IG, Disu, who described the April 26, 2026 incident as criminal, unacceptable, and a direct betrayal of the oath of service, ordered the dismissal and criminal prosecution of Usman, and four other officers over the alleged extra-judicial killing of Ogidi.
Speaking at a press briefing last Wednesday at Force Headquarters, Abuja, the IG said the police authorities had concluded internal disciplinary proceedings against the officers and had recommended their immediate dismissal from service, pending final ratification by the Police Service Commission (PSC).
He said the disciplinary action followed investigations, which confirmed that Usman acted in gross violation of Force Order 247, which regulated the use of firearms by police officers, as well as other standard operational procedures guiding police conduct.
According to the IG, no suspicion of criminal activity by any citizen can justify unlawful killing by law enforcement officers.
Disu stated, “The investigation confirmed, without any ambiguity, that ASP Nuhu Usman acted in gross violation of Force Order 247 and established Standard Operating Procedures.
“No level of criminal suspicion against a citizen justifies extra-judicial killing. Our duty is to protect life, not to extinguish it.”
He disclosed that both the Force Disciplinary Committee and the Orderly Room Tribunal recommended the immediate dismissal of all officers found culpable in the incident.
The IG further stated that once the dismissal was ratified by the PSC, the affected officers would be handed over to the appropriate judicial authorities for criminal prosecution over unlawful homicide.
He said, “The era of impunity is over. We are demonstrating that every citizen, regardless of their uniform, is accountable under the law.”
Disu’s prompt response has rekindled the hope of Nigerians in the police.
However, many Nigerians believe that if Usman had carried out his cruel and inhuman act in secret, his team would have claimed that Ogidi was shot while trying to escape from lawful custody or in the course of trying to snatch a rifle from one of the policemen who arrested him.
Such false claims that were made in the past by the police after similar incidents across police formations nationwide contributed largely in eroding public confidence in the force.
With the mounting evidence as shown in the video, there was no room for the police to claim that they were investigating the video and use such a frivolous claim to bury the incident under the carpet.
Delta State Police Command image maker, Superintendent of Police (SP) Bright Edafe admitted that he could not explain what fueled Usman’s action.
An angry Edafe stated that he could not understand why Usman shot “a suspect who is not a threat to you, a suspect who is already tied to his back, a suspect who is begging for his life – you tried to shoot him the first time but it didn’t work; you removed your magazine, arranged it again and shot him the second time; it is not explainable; it is not pardonable.”
There were speculations that Usman had a link with the alleged Sapele-based principal suspect and that he killed Ogidi to cover up his own involvement in the principal suspect’s criminal activities.
Will the police investigation unravel this mystery?
Will rogue police officers learn any lesson from Usman’s downfall and turn a new leaf?
Can the Disu-led police leadership initiate effective and enduring reforms that will end police brutality and impunity? Events of the coming months will provide answers to these questions.
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