Police: Why we altered pictures of arrested suspects

The police have admitted altering the pictures of some suspects arrested with guns.

On Tuesday, TheCable photo desk had confirmed, with the use of advanced technology, that the pictures, which the police shared on Twitter were manipulated.

There were various inconsistencies between the original shots and the manipulated ones.

The reflection of the female suspect did not appear in the window behind her, while a white background appeared from nowhere beside the arm of the male suspect.

Both spokespersons of the police headquarters and the federal capital territory (FCT) police command did not respond to earlier inquiries by TheCable.

But reacting on Wednesday, the police said the pictures were merged, having been taken separately.

However, then the pictures were posted, the police did not indicate that they were merged.

“The pictures were taken separately and merged into one screen for seamless understanding of the story line,” the police tweeted.

”The arms showcased in the picture were the exhibits recovered by Police operatives from the suspects.”

However, the pictures were taken separately and merged into one screen for seamless understanding of the story line. The arms showcased in the picture were the exhibits recovered by Police operatives from the suspects.

— Nigeria Police Force (@PoliceNG) December 2, 2020

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The police also described as erroneous claims “suggesting that the photos of the suspects shared on the Police handles … were falsified.”

“The Force wishes to state categorically that there was absolutely no misrepresentation or any intention whatsoever to deceive members of the public,” it said.

“To set the record straight, in the case involving one Talatu Ibrahim, female, 40years old from Shinkafi LGA, Zamfara State from whom six (6) AK49 rifles were recovered and one other, Duleji Alhaji Abubakar a.k.a Ori jeje who gets arms supply from her to carry out series of kidnapping and armed robbery in Kwara State, the pictures are authentic and true representation of the suspects and exhibits.”