‘If you were Igbo, I would have detained you’ – Police Officer tells UK returnee amid alleged bribe demand

A Nigerian police officer has come under intense public criticism after a viral video appeared to show him telling a motorist that he was “lucky not to be Igbo” during a confrontation over an alleged demand for a bribe.

The incident, which has attracted widespread attention on social media, reportedly involved a Nigerian who had recently returned from the United Kingdom and was stopped by police officers at a checkpoint.

According to the motorist, he refused to give the officer money, insisting that he had committed no traffic offence and that the officer should carry out his official duties instead of demanding a bribe.

In the video, the driver identified himself as the owner of the vehicle, saying, “I came from UK and I am the owner.”

The officer, however, dismissed the remark, responding, “Go and do better thing.”

When the motorist added, “I don’t have anything, Oga. If I have, I would have given you,” the officer allegedly made a statement that has since sparked outrage.

“I just want to see how you are going to behave. If you are another person, Igbo or others, I will just carry you go (to the station). If you don’t have anything, go and park,” the officer was heard saying in the video.

The motorist then demanded the return of his driver’s licence, asking, “Then can I have my driving licence? Wetin I do na?”

Rather than explain any alleged traffic offence or inspect the driver’s documents, the officer repeatedly instructed him to leave the scene.

“Go and park,” the officer said.

The driver challenged the officer’s conduct, insisting that none of his documents had been checked.

“You no check my documents. Do your job, I won’t give you anything,” he responded.

Social media users also alleged that the officer threatened to slap the motorist during the encounter, although this has not been independently verified.

The officer’s reference to the Igbo ethnic group has generated widespread condemnation, with many Nigerians describing the remark as discriminatory, unprofessional and inconsistent with the standards expected of law enforcement personnel.

Reacting to the video on X, a user, Abiola Oshodi, wrote: “‘If you were Igbo, I would have detained you.’ This is tribal profiling and armed robbery in uniform. @PoliceNG @BenHundeyin, is this the training and orientation your men receive at the police academy? To extort citizens and weaponise ethnicity? This brazen lawlessness.”

As of the time of filing this report, the Nigeria Police Force had not issued an official statement on the incident or confirmed the identity of the officer featured in the viral video.

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