A viral video showing a police officer waving at a group of armed men on motorcycles has sparked public outrage, with Arise News anchor Rufai Oseni dismissing the police explanation that the men were members of the Vigilante Group of Nigeria (VGN). The footage, which circulated on Wednesday, appeared to show the officer greeting the armed group as they passed by on motorcycles in what seemed to be a routine patrol-like movement. On Thursday, the police issued a statement identifying the men as registered VGN members, asserting they were legally operating in the area. Oseni, during a segment on Arise Television's 'Morning Show', questioned the credibility of the explanation, asking, "Do they think Nigerians are daft or we don't have brains?" He expressed disbelief that uniformed police officers would salute armed groups carrying sophisticated weapons, noting the gesture appeared deliberate and familiar. "I don't know when the police started giving salutes to vigilantes," he added, criticizing the normalization of such interactions. Oseni linked the incident to broader governance failures, stating, "You see, we live in a mess. And this mess has been largely caused by our political class because of their own selfishness." No official disciplinary action or further investigation has been announced. The police statement did not specify the location of the encounter or provide visual evidence confirming the identities of the armed men.
The police claim that armed men on motorcycles were registered vigilantes does not explain the officer's salute, a gesture that implies recognition and mutual respect rather than routine monitoring. If the VGN operates openly with military-grade weapons and police acknowledgment, the line between state-sanctioned security and armed civilian groups has become dangerously blurred. This normalization of armed movements under official cover risks legitimizing violence in communities already strained by insecurity. The political class Oseni referenced continues to oversee systems where such ambiguities thrive without accountability.
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