Lagos police inspector arrested after caught drinking beer confiscated from driver while on duty

LAGOS State police commissioner Imohimi Edgal has ordered the arrest of one of his officers Inspector Emmanuel Egba after he was seen drinking a bottle of beer confiscated from a commercial driver while on duty.

In an embarrassing case for the police, Inspector Egba was photographed drinking from what looked like a bottle of Star and the picture was widely circulated in the media. Incensed at what is a negation of the new image of the police he is trying to build, Mr Edgal ordered that the inspector be arrested and that the incident be investigated to ascertain its veracity.

Lagos State police command spokesperson Chike Oti, said: “The attention of the commissioner of police has been drawn to a publication in which a police inspector was caught on camera holding a bottle of beer. The officer in question has been identified and arrested, he is Inspector Emmanuel Egba, a police motorcycle rider attached to Area M Command, Idimu and not the Rapid Response Squad (RRS).

“When the inspector was questioned by senior officers, he denied the allegation, stating that he recovered the beer bottle with liquid contents from a driver who was drinking right inside his car in traffic. He added that he feared that the driver might get himself intoxicated thereby endangering his life and that of other road users.

“The case is however being investigated at the Command Provost Section and if his claim is found to be false, appropriate disciplinary action will be meted out to him after an Orderly Room Trial."

As part of a clampdown on corruption within the Nigerian Police Force, the government plans to introduce a new uniform without pockets. Nigerian police are notorious for fleecing commercial drivers, collecting bribes and items off them at checkpoints.