The circumstances behind a widely shared video that showed Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC), speaking to some officers in Abuja have been explained by the Nigerian Police Command in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Obi was seen engaging with Nigerian Police Force officers in a video clip that went viral on social media, telling them that they deserve a better life because they are serving the country well.
In the video, Obi could be heard saying, “We want to bring you out ok something better when we will be talking about your welfare, the future of your children and that is everybody.
“It’s not correct to bring you out just because of party issues.”
However, a statement issued on Monday by SP Josephine Adeh, the Police Public Relations Officer of the command, said the video has been “altered with political campaign posters and captions to create a mischievous and false narrative suggesting a political engagement or endorsement from personnel of the Nigeria Police Force.
The PPRO said the misrepresentation was entirely false, stressing that it “does not reflect the true facts of the incident”.
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She further clarified that the interaction between Obi and the officers as captured in the video, occurred in 2024 when the “command received a distress call reporting unrest/protests stemming from party leadership tussle at the Labour Party Headquarters in Utako Area of the FCT.
“Responding to the distress call, personnel of the FCT Police Command were immediately deployed to the scene to restore law and order.
“During the operation, Mr. Peter Obi, who was present at the location, briefly addressed the officers while clarifying the circumstances surrounding the party dispute.
“The interaction was purely incidental to the police response and had no political undertone whatsoever as otherwise mischievously suggested in the viral video.”
