Why Police Actions Could Spark Unrest in Nigeria

In my view, the next major unrest in Nigeria will not come from politicians or ethnic groups. It will come from the police. A simple incident, like a routine stop that ends badly, a protest that turns violent, and the anger of many people will explode. Recently, protesters in Port Harcourt blocked a road, while a drone operator in Osogbo embarrassed some police officers. These are small acts of defiance that hint at something bigger.

Two recent events show the troubled relationship between Nigeria's police and the public. In Port Harcourt, angry youths blocked Agip Road to protest the killing of Anthony Obodo, a 22-year-old University of Port Harcourt graduate shot by a police officer. The youths were understandably upset. The Rivers State police commissioner, who warned that the protest could be “hijacked by hoodlums,” missed the point entirely. His reaction, typical of Nigeria’s security forces, was to see a genuine complaint as a potential threat. This has been the situation since 1929. Meanwhile, Anthony Obodo’s family mourns their son and hopes for justice.

This issue is nothing new, and that is exactly the problem. In 2020, the #EndSARS protests started after a video showed police officers from the SARS unit killing a young man in Delta State. That incident sparked nationwide protests, which only ended after the tragic events at the Lekki Toll Gate.

Then there is the case of ASP Usman Nuhu, the police officer who was filmed killing musician Oghenemine Ogidi in Delta State. This case clearly shows why young Nigerians no longer trust the police and are turning to self-help. Nuhu and four other officers were charged on 30 June. Nuhu pleaded not guilty to murder, while the others pleaded not guilty to lesser charges. The court adjourned to 14 July for the trial to start. That is where the public record ends. There is no news to confirm if the trial began or if a verdict was reached. It is possible that the case is still pending, lost in the court system.

This is the pattern: a young man is killed in plain sight, the officer is dismissed quickly, and the prosecution starts with much fanfare, then goes quiet. The system does not provide justice. It simply puts on a show. When the government cannot, or will not, hold its own killers accountable, the message to young people is clear: your life does not matter, and the law will not protect you. The police are not protectors but predators with badges. When the institution that should ensure accountability becomes the aggressor, young people feel they have no choice but to take matters into their own hands.

Every young Nigerian knows this story. They have heard many promises of investigations and prosecutions, only to see silence follow. They have come to a single conclusion: no one is coming to help them. Not the police, not the courts, not the government. They are on their own, so they will turn to self-help. When the state fails to enforce justice, it creates a space for vigilantes and armed groups to take over. This is a failure of governance, and it will continue until the system starts punishing its own. Until then, young Nigerians will keep taking the law into their own hands because the law has shown them no other option. The Nuhu case is not unique. It is the norm, and the norm says justice is for the powerful, while the rest must fend for themselves.

The greater danger is that this anger is about to meet another issue: hunger. Nigeria is facing a cost-of-living crisis. Protests over economic hardships have already turned deadly. Recently, police used tear gas on pensioners protesting poor living conditions. Reports show that the police have arrested nearly 700 people in the past year, yet they always deny attacking peaceful protesters.

#EndSARS was a spark that ignited a fire. Ogidi’s killing was a spark that flickered and died. The Port Harcourt protest could be another spark that fails to ignite. But one day, one of these incidents will catch fire. And I don’t want to be on the streets when that happens. Another incident showed we may not be far off.

In Osogbo, a bystander used a drone to scare off police officers caught on camera extorting drivers. The officers ran away. What stood out to me was the laughter of the crowd. That says a lot.

The Osogbo incident is different from what we saw with #EndSARS, Delta, and now Rivers. Osogbo was a moment of pure contempt, where citizens no longer bother to protest but simply expose and humiliate. The use of a drone to embarrass police officers shows a growing frustration with police misconduct. The pattern is clear: citizens are finding creative ways to resist because the formal channels for accountability are broken. Extortion has been a long-standing issue, but not much has been done about it, except when it goes viral, like when a policeman was dismissed for extorting a Dutch rider who filmed the incident in high definition and shared it worldwide.

These events matter because they show a police force that is both predatory and weak. Predatory, because officers routinely extort and kill without consequences. Weak, because they ran from a drone. This contradiction is explosive. When the state’s enforcement arm is both feared and mocked, it loses its legitimacy. The more Nigerians see police as clowns who can be outsmarted by a drone, the less they will fear them. The less they fear them, the more they will resist.

When hunger meets a police force that kills without accountability and runs away from drones, the result is not stability. It is a powder keg, and the police are like a child playing with matches near it. It’s not a matter of if it will explode, but when.

The greater danger is that this anger is about to collide with something far more combustible: hunger. Nigeria is gripped by a cost-of-living crisis. Protests over economic hardship have already turned deadly. Just a short while ago, the police fired tear gas on pensioners protesting harsh living conditions. Over the last year, various reports show that the police have arrested nearly 700 people, but they always deny attacking peaceful demonstrators. The removal of fuel subsidies and currency devaluation have pushed food prices out of reach for millions. The Jollof Index, which tracks the cost of a basic meal, has increased by over 600 percent since 2016.

In this situation, the police are not protectors. They represent a state that has failed to provide security, economic opportunities, or justice. Every extrajudicial killing, every extortion, and every viral drone video erodes the state’s legitimacy. The latest NOIPolls’ Police Brutality Poll from May 2026 shows strong public support for police reform. But reform has not happened. Instead, the police have become an institution that Nigerians try to avoid, bribe, or, as seen in Osogbo, outsmart.