Lagos CP orders disciplinary action against officer pictured ‘smoking weed’

Abiodun Alabi, Lagos commissioner of police, has directed disciplinary measures against a police officer pictured “smoking indian hemp”.

Over the weekend, Instablog9ja, an Instagram-based blog, shared a now-viral picture showing a police officer in uniform, holding an item that looked like a stick of Indian hemp, popularly known as weed in Nigerian local parlance.

The picture was accompanied by a caption that read ‘Policeman spotted allegedly smoking weed on duty in Ijora, Lagos’.

Reacting to the development, Benjamin Hundeyin, Lagos police spokesperson, in a statement on Tuesday, said the officer in the viral picture has been identified as Babatunde Adebayo.

“The Lagos State Police Command has identified the police officer pictured smoking weed at the Ijora area of Lagos state. He is ASP Babatunde Adebayo serving at the Shogunle division of the command,” the statement reads.

“Lagos state commissioner of police, CP Abiodun Alabi, fdc, mnim, psc has directed the immediate commencement of appropriate disciplinary measures commensurate with his rank.

“CP Alabi has equally warned officers and men of the Command to stay clear of all unprofessional and unethical conduct as any officer found guilty of these acts will be severely sanctioned.”

This is not the first time police officers will be caught smoking while on duty, contrary to the provisions of the Nigerian Police Act 2020.

Section 100(1) of the Act states: “While on duty, a police officer shall not take any intoxicating liquor, psychotropic substances, or stimulants; where he does, he shall be punished in accordance with the police disciplinary procedures.”

In 2021, an investigation by TheCable had revealed how police officers attached to the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) in Lagos drank alcohol and engaged in betting activities while on duty around the Ikeja axis of the state.

Weeks after the publication, TheCable observed that the RSS officers had stopped the practice of patronising liquor stores and gambling centres in Ikeja.