In the video, one of the officers was seen beating the man with a stick before slapping him repeatedly.
The Nigeria Police Force says an inspector seen in a viral video repeatedly slapping a passenger in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, has been demoted to sergeant.
The Force Headquarters had arrested and paraded three policemen identified as Inspector Adejoh Siaka; Inspector Friday Obaka, and Sgt. Ndiwa Kpuebari and said to be responsible for assaulting passengers in Port Harcourt on Sunday, April 9, 2023.
The police authority had condemned the conduct of the officers and vowed that they would be sanctioned.
However, in a statement on Tuesday, the Force Public Relations Officer CSP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, said that while Inspector Adejoh Siaka was demoted to Sergeant, Inspector Friday Obaka was discharged after he was found not culpable.
Adejobi said the Inspector General of Police, IGP Usman Baba tasked police personnel to be professional and respect the fundamental rights of the citizen.
He noted that one Sergeant Ndiwa Kpuebari who was at the scene during the assault but took no step to discourage such an inappropriate and shameful act was severely reprimanded.
He said, "Subsequent to complaints and findings on video evidence widely circulated on Sunday 9th April, 2023, on social media of assault, discreditable conduct, and incivility to members of the public, at Emouha, Rivers State, and a follow-up orderly room trial of the affected policemen by the Force Provost Marshal, one Adejoh Siaka has been reduced in rank from Inspector to Sergeant.
"Similarly, one Sergeant Ndiwa Kpuebari who was also present at the scene but took no steps to discourage such inappropriate and shameful act was severely reprimanded.
"However, one Inspector Friday Obaka, who was later discovered to have been absent from the scene of the skirmish was discharged unconditionally at the conclusion of the proceedings."
The Force spokesman, however, stated that the three policemen would be posted out of Rivers State to other commands and formations.
"The Inspector General of Police has therefore tasked officers and men of the Force to be diligent and uphold the lofty tenets of professional policing in the discharge of their duties with respect for the fundamental rights of all citizens in line with the provisions of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended)."
SaharaReporters earlier reported that the Police Force Headquarters had ordered the arrest of the officers sighted in a viral video assaulting a man on a major road.
It had reported a viral video showing a policeman assaulting a man in the middle of a road, in an incident that happened at Emouha Junction, East/West Road in Port Harcourt.
The officer and his colleagues were not in the approved uniforms but were armed.
In the video, one of the officers was seen beating the man with a stick before slapping him repeatedly.
However, following an outcry, the police authority condemned the action of the policemen and insisted that their conduct doesn't represent the character of the Nigeria Police Force.