The Nigeria Police Force has announced the dismissal of three officers caught on camera firing their guns into the air while escorting a popular Kano singer, Dauda Kahutu Rarara, at a ceremony in Katsina State.
In a statement released on Thursday by the Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, the officers were dismissed for “discreditable conduct to wit misuse of firearms, abuse of power, gross indiscipline, and wastage of live ammunition.”
The officers, Insp. Dahiru Shuaibu, Sgt. Abdullahi Badamasi, and Sgt. Isah Danladi, were attached to the Special Protection Unit (SPU) Base 1 in Kano and were on escort duty when they repeatedly fired shots into the air with their pistols and AK-47s.
The video of the incident, which was widely circulated on social media, sparked outrage and led to a follow-up orderly room trial of the affected policemen by the Force Provost Marshal.
“Discipline: 3 policemen dismissed for disciplinary offences. Subsequent to complaints and findings on video evidence widely circulated on Friday 7th April, 2023, on social media of high-handedness, unprofessional conduct, and misuse of firearms against some policemen from Special Protection Unit (SPU) Base 1, Kano, and a follow-up orderly room trial of the affected policemen by the Force Provost Marshal, three officers from the SPU Base 1 Kano have been dismissed for the offences of discreditable conduct to wit misuse of firearms, abuse of power, gross indiscipline, and wastage of live ammunition,“ the statement read.
“The trio, Inspr. Dahiru Shuaibu, Sgt. Abdullahi Badamasi, and Sgt. Isah Danladi, were attached to a musician in Kano on escort duties. In the course of their duty on Friday 7th April, 2023 at Kahutu Village, Katsina State, the officers repeatedly fired shots from their official firearms into the air despite police policy against firing in the air, standard operating procedure and relevant Force Orders; and disregarding the possible risk to the crowd at the location which included children. The act was not only criminal and unprofessional but also embarrassing to the Force and the nation at large.”