The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundyin, has written safety tips for people to follow when dealing with an armed person.
Hundeyin shared these tips on his personal X page (formerly Twitter), admonishing people, especially the young generation, to take note of these tips.
He wrote, “Ladies and gentlemen, especially the woke generation, for your safety, please STOP: challenging/daring an armed person to shoot, asking an armed person, in a daring manner, how many people he/she can kill, attempting to disarm an armed person.
“It never pans out well; nowhere in the world does it. A shot, once fired, can never be retrieved. A life once lost can never be brought back. Remember, one with a gun is majority.”
The PPRO noted that the post was not for armed police officers only but also for any armed person, security forces, or criminals.
Reactions have subsequently followed the post.
An X user, floratheexplorer, said, “My dad, being a late retired soldier, warned me against daring an armed officer of the law. He said out of shame of being ridiculed, an armed officer may be forced to pull the trigger. The devil-like using that scenario as a platform to express himself.”
Another X user, Bami, wrote, “I will shoot you, and nothing will happen; I will just waste you. Are you familiar with these words? If yes, can you also issue a disclaimer to the “armed people” that says it the most? Oh, I forgot, you already made it known that “one with a gun is a majority.”
In another vein, an X user, Pure Stanley, who had a different opinion, wrote, “Such an abysmal statement coming from a so-called “SP,” Why not tell your men to behave like a trained and certified police officer when dealing with the citizens, as other police officers from a sane clime do? It no longer surprises me that you and other police officers on “X” always find a way to defend the evil and the unprovoked killing from our men of the citizens they swore to protect. A citizen that challenged a gun Wilding policeman to shoot him/her must have endured the police officers’ unethical behavior and attack towards them for too long that they have no other option than to lash out. For the people applauding Mr Ben 10 for this s! ck message he passed, it’s because you have never in your life encountered police brutality in any form as I and others have. I remember back then, in 2020 a police officer gave me two hot slaps and threatened to shoot me because I refused to open my phone for him to search. Mr Ben, I suggest you table down this unsolicited advice of yours to you’re untrained and unqualified police officers.”
Nduke Wisdom on X also wrote, “Ladies and police officers, especially the killer squads, please STOP. Intimidating unarmed civilians with guns. Intimidating journalists with guns to prevent free speech.Killing unarmed youths protesting for good governance. Arresting an eye witness, when you can’t find the doers.
Tife in his opinion on X wrote, “Irrespective of what you think of the Nigerian Police, it is still plain stupid to do any of the things he mentioned. Try and avoid these scenarios. Besides, I don’t think the tweet is just limited to dealings with the police; only those who live today can tell tales of yesterday.”
For years, many Nigerians, especially youths, have been victims of the police and the Nigerian Army’s shootings, while some were tortured to death in custody.
