The Lagos State Police Command said it has commenced an investigation into a viral video showing the alleged assault of a gold seller by police officers in the Festac area of Lagos.

The incident, which reportedly occurred on Friday, gained widespread attention on Saturday after the victim shared videos alleging that he was assaulted by the officers while delivering a gold necklace to a customer.

The command disclosed this in a statement posted on its official X account on Saturday, saying the officers captured in the video had been identified as personnel attached to Area E Command.

In the videos, the man claimed he was stopped and searched by the officers, who allegedly found no incriminating item on him but questioned a digital scale he said he used for weighing gold.

According to him, the officers accused him of using the scale to weigh cannabis and ordered him to accompany them to the police station.

He alleged that he refused because he had committed no offence and became suspicious as the officers were not properly dressed in police uniforms, while the vehicle they arrived in had no registration number.

The man further alleged that the officers dragged him in an attempt to force him into the vehicle, hit him on the head with a gun and physically assaulted him.

The footage showed a brief confrontation outdoors near a red minibus before cutting to the man, who displayed an injury near his eye and a gold necklace he said he was delivering at the time of the incident.

A follow-up video also surfaced online in which the man alleged that one of the officers instructed his colleagues to open fire before they fled the scene.

Reacting to the videos, the Lagos State Police Command said the officers involved had been identified and summoned for investigation.

According to it’s statement: “The Lagos State Police Command has seen the video and has commenced an investigation into the incident.The officers involved have been identified as personnel attached to Area E Command.”

It added: “The Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Command, CP Tijani Fatai, has directed the Area Commander to immediately produce the officers at the Command Headquarters for further investigation and appropriate action.”

Anambra State Police Command has arrested two wanted criminal suspects linked to kidnapping cases in the state.

The State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, made the announcement in a statement on Saturday.

Ikenga said that, acting on credible intelligence, operatives attached to the Rapid Response Squad, Awkuzu, carried out an operation that resulted in the arrest of one Dauda Mohamed, who confessed to being a suspected member of a notorious kidnapping syndicate in Kogi State.

According to Ikenga, during interrogation, the suspect allegedly confessed to participating in several kidnapping operations.

The police spokesman further identified one Umar Ali as the leader of the kidnapping gang, whom he claimed was responsible for coordinating logistics and supplying operational weapons to the criminal network.

The statement added that the suspect also mentioned one Usman and one Gongola as members of the identified syndicate, but they are currently at large.

The command said investigations revealed that the suspect was linked to the kidnapping of a victim at Divine Heritage Lodge, Ukwulu, in Dunukofia Local Government Area.

According to the command, during the incident, armed hoodlums emerged from an uncompleted building behind the lodge, fired several gunshots, abducted the victim into a nearby bush, and later demanded a ransom of ₦30,000,000.

The Kano State Police Command has recovered 160 suspected stolen solar inverters worth about N59.2 million in Kano following intelligence provided by a community policing stakeholder.

The recovery was announced in a statement issued on Saturday by the Police Public Relations Officer, CSP Abdullahi Haruna Kiyawa, who said the operation was one of two major breakthroughs recorded by the command within 48 hours through the efforts of officers from the Sharada Police Division and the Special Intervention Squad (SIS).

According to the statement, detectives attached to the Sharada Police Division acted on credible information on July 29 after receiving reports that a man was offering large quantities of solar inverters for sale at unusually low prices.

The police said the suspect, identified as 43-year-old Abdullahi Isah, was arrested, while a follow-up operation led officers to an uncompleted building at Haye Quarters along the Western Bypass Road in Kano, where the inverters were found.

Police said a total of 160 pieces of 6.5KW/48V solar inverters, valued at N59.2 million, were recovered from the building and are believed to have been stolen.

The command called on anyone who owns or recently lost solar inverters matching the description to report to the Sharada Police Division for identification and possible recovery.

“The items are reasonably suspected to have been stolen,” the statement said.

The police added that investigations are ongoing to determine where the items came from and identify other people who may be connected to the case.

The suspect would be charged to court after investigations are completed, the command said.

In another operation, the police arrested three suspects in connection with the theft of six fuel dispensing machines worth about N10.2 million from Jajire Filling Station in Aku Village along Maiduguri Road in Gaya Local Government Area.

According to the police, the robbery took place in the early hours of July 25 when armed men reportedly overpowered the station’s security guards, tied them up, locked them inside the security room and carted away the fuel dispensing machines.

After the incident was reported later that day, operatives of the Special Intervention Squad launched an investigation and arrested three suspects on July 29.

The suspects were identified as Bishir Abubakar, 60, of Gafai Ward in Katsina State; Shamsu Abdullahi, 30, of Kofar Kaura Ward in Katsina State; and Alhaji Shamsu Lawan, 56, of Filin Polo in Katsina State.

During interrogation, the police said the suspects confessed to buying the stolen fuel dispensing machines from one Usman Ibrahim of Kaduna State, who is currently on the run, for N5.2 million.

The command said efforts are ongoing to arrest the fleeing suspect and recover the stolen machines, while the arrested suspects will also be charged to court after investigations are completed.