A Twitter user has claimed that there is a new Nigeria Police law that forbids more than two persons, especially males, from walking together.
“Thank God I move alone these days. Cos this new police law that forbid more than two people(male) moving together in broad daylight needs to be thoroughly studied.”
This was in reaction to the comments recently made by Benjamin Hundenyi, the Police Public Relations Officer of the Lagos State Command while responding to the videos shared by another Twitter user, where some officers were seen attempting to arrest an unidentified young man.
Hundenyi’s comments sparked mixed reactions, with some expressing concerns regarding human rights.
Claim: There is a new Police law that forbids walking in groups
Verification
To verify the claim, the CDD War Room checked through the most recent police law, “Nigeria Police Act of 2020”, which repealed the Police Act of 2004.
Section 38 of the Act grants police officers the authority to apprehend individuals they reasonably suspect without needing a court order or warrant. However, Section 54 explicitly prohibits the consideration of personal attributes, such as dressing, race, age, or hairstyle, as well as prejudiced stereotypes when determining the grounds for arrest.
We found no provision in the Act explicitly authorizing the arrest of individuals solely based on their movement or walking in groups. Furthermore, when we reached out to Benjamin Hundenyin, the Lagos Police PRO he dismissed the claim, describing it as ridiculous
Verdict: False
The claim that there is a new Nigeria police law forbidding individuals from walking in groups is false. Our findings revealed that no such provision exists in the Police Act of 2020, which is the current legislation in use. Also, an official from the law enforcement agency has explicitly also debunked the claim.
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