“A nation is not judged by how it treats the innocent, but by what it does to the helpless in its custody. In Effurun, Nigeria did not enforce the law—it executed a man who had already surrendered.”
Anyi kings
Published On the Biafra post
April 29, 2026
What occurred in Effurun, Delta State on April 26, 2026, is not just disturbing—it is a profound indictment of law enforcement and a direct assault on the rule of law in Nigeria.
The incident involving ASP Nuhu Usman and his team is captured on video, leaving little room for dispute. What that footage shows is not an arrest gone wrong. It shows something far more dangerous: the normalization of extrajudicial killing.
A Cold-Blooded Execution, Not Law Enforcement
According to available reports, 28-year-old Mene Ogidi was apprehended by officers over an alleged parcel containing a firearm. That alone, even if proven, does not justify what followed.
Eyewitness accounts and video evidence indicate that the suspect had been completely subdued—his hands and legs restrained, seated on the ground, and posing no threat to anyone.
He pleaded for his life.
In clear desperation, he reportedly said, “Officers, abeg, I go tell you everything,” offering cooperation and compliance. At that point, the responsibility of the officers was clear: secure the suspect and proceed with lawful investigation.
Instead, an officer cocked his rifle and fired—first at the leg, then fatally at the head—while bystanders watched in shock.
This was not policing. This was execution.
A Direct Violation of Law and Constitution
Section 33 of the Nigerian Constitution guarantees the right to life. The only exceptions permitted under the law are strictly defined and hinge on necessity—particularly in situations involving imminent threat to life.
Force Order 237, which governs police use of firearms, reinforces this principle: lethal force is a last resort, not a tool of convenience or punishment.
In this case, there was no imminent threat. The suspect was restrained, compliant, and under control. The use of lethal force under such conditions is not just excessive—it is unlawful.
Why Accountability Must Go Beyond Internal Discipline
There is a troubling history in Nigeria of serious abuses by security personnel being handled through quiet internal measures—transfers, suspensions, or dismissals that rarely lead to criminal accountability.
That approach cannot stand here.
Transferring an officer implicated in a killing of this nature does not address the gravity of the act. It raises deeper concerns about institutional accountability and public trust.
This is not a disciplinary issue. It is a criminal matter.
The Broader Implications
When citizens begin to fear those tasked with protecting them, the foundation of society is weakened.
If a restrained and cooperating suspect can be killed in public, it sends a message that due process is optional—and that power, not law, determines outcomes.
That is a dangerous precedent.
The Case for Open and Transparent Prosecution
Calls by civil society groups, including the Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC) and Amnesty International, for a full and open criminal investigation are both necessary and justified.
Justice, in this case, must be:
Transparent – handled in an open court of law
Impartial – free from institutional bias or internal shielding
Proportionate – reflecting the seriousness of the offense
Anything less risks reinforcing a culture of impunity.
Conclusion: A Test of the System
This case is bigger than one officer. It is a test of whether Nigeria’s justice system can uphold the very principles it claims to defend.
The demand here is simple: accountability under the law.
Justice for Mene Ogidi must not be symbolic. It must be real, visible, and rooted in due process.
Only then can there be any meaningful reassurance that the rule of law still stands.
“If a bound and pleading citizen can be shot in the head without consequence, then justice is no longer blind—it is dead. And when justice dies, the state itself stands accused.”
Anyi kings
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April 29, 2026
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