By Ishola Adeleke, YeyeNews.com, October 17, 2021
Following the rising cases of police officers unlawfully arresting Nigerian youths on the streets and forcefully withdrawing money from their bank accounts, a retired Inspector General of Police has given Nigerian youths some useful tips to prevent being victims of the officers.
The retired IGP, who do not want his name in print told YeyeNews.com reporter that the youths are responsible for the actions of the police officers towards them. “When I was a youth, we didn’t have access to the luxuries your generation is known for today”, he said to the reporter. “Nigerian youths of today drive in cars that even their parents cannot afford. They wear designer clothing, well fitted shirts and pants, tattoos all over their bodies, with hairs sheened with expensive shampoos. You can perceive some of their perfumes from miles away. You think police officers don’t want the good life too?”, he retorted. “The police simply found a way to have a slice of the goodies”.
The retired Inspector General gave some tips on how the youths can avoid falling victims to such unlawful arrests. According to him, youths must;
1. Avoid going out with iPhones. Get a small phone like ‘Nokia Touch’ that you will use outside your house.
2. Dress wretched when you go out. No police will stop you.
3. If you must dress well, drive a big car and carry an iPhone then you should have at least a hundred thousand to negotiate with when you are arrested or get one or two senior officers on your payroll.
4. Avoid Uber and Bolt rides. Take a public bus. Police don’t go after passengers of intra-city public buses”.
He further advise youths to avoid places like cinemas, shopping malls, airports, hotels and other elitist environments. “Police usually follow their targets from these environments. Stay indoors as much as possible. If the youths follow these tips they will be safe from the police. But this may not help with the EFCC – those ones now carry out raids on youths in their houses. Maybe ultimately the youths should just leave this country for the elder ones”, he concluded.
