Reported by: Oahimire Omone Precious | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The Nigeria Police Force has identified the officer captured in a viral video making derogatory and ethnically charged remarks against Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, and declaring that an Igbo person can never become President of Nigeria. The officer, who appeared to be inside a commercial vehicle, was filmed in uniform while launching a sustained verbal attack on Obi's candidacy and ethnic identity.
In the video, which began circulating on social media on September 23, 2026, the officer accused Obi of being a criminal, a ritualist, and an internet fraudster, claiming that Obi would turn Aso Rock into a "Yahoo office" if elected president. "Igbo can never become president. No way. He will turn that Abuja to become Yahoo office. They will take you to do rituals. A small child who doesn't want to respect elders," the officer said. He went further: "Who is Obi? A small child. It is not yet his turn, until he gets old up to 80 or 90 years... Atiku versus Tinubu. Kick Obi out of this matter!" He insisted that the contest was between President Bola Tinubu and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, and that Obi had no place in it. "All the votes they will cast for him in Igboland are useless," he declared.
The officer also invoked former President Olusegun Obasanjo, alleging that Obasanjo had said he could not make an Igbo man his vice president and chose a Hausa man instead. "Obi is too small to stand where Atiku and Tinubu are speaking. This time around, he will be in fifth position. Igbo will be expecting to become the president? Igbo man or Igbo woman can never become a president of this nation! It has been a tradition!" he said. He accused Obi of being a "criminal," an "Indian hemp smoker," and a "Yahoo" fraudster, adding, "He will turn that office to become a Yahoo office. When are you guys going to arrest this man?"
Voices of passengers speaking Igbo, condemning the officer, could be heard in the background of the video. The footage sparked immediate outrage on social media, with many Nigerians calling on the police hierarchy to identify and discipline the officer. The police have now confirmed that the officer has been identified, but they have not disclosed his identity or provided details on whether he has been arrested, detained, or subjected to disciplinary action.
The development comes amid growing concerns over the politicisation of the Nigeria Police Force and the ethnicisation of political discourse ahead of the 2027 general elections. The Police Force is constitutionally required to remain neutral and apolitical, yet officers have repeatedly been caught on camera making partisan and ethnically charged statements. In July 2026, the Ondo State Police Command arrested four officers after a viral video showed them making ethnically insensitive remarks to a motorist during a stop-and-search operation, threatening to detain him if he was Igbo. That incident led to an orderly room trial in accordance with the Force's disciplinary procedures.
The latest incident raises similar questions. The officer's remarks were not merely offensive; they were a direct attack on the constitutional right of every Nigerian to aspire to any political office, regardless of ethnicity or religion. His claim that an Igbo person can never be president is not a statement of law or fact but an expression of ethnic prejudice. His allegation that Obi is a criminal and a ritualist is defamatory and unsubstantiated. His suggestion that Igbo votes are "useless" is an attack on the democratic principle of equal suffrage.
The Nigeria Police Force has an opportunity to demonstrate that it takes its constitutional obligations seriously. Identifying the officer is a first step. The next step is to ensure that he faces the full weight of the Force's disciplinary process and, where applicable, the law. The officer's actions have brought the Force into disrepute and undermined public confidence in its neutrality. If the police fail to act decisively, they will send a message that officers can openly engage in ethnic politics while wearing the uniform of the Nigerian state.
For Peter Obi and his supporters, the video is a reminder of the ethnic and political prejudice that his campaign will face in the months ahead. Obi has not yet publicly responded to the incident. The Nigeria Democratic Congress has also not issued an official statement. The silence from the party may be strategic, but the broader issue remains: how does a candidate of Igbo extraction convince a nation that his ethnicity is not a barrier to leadership when a serving police officer can publicly declare that it is?
The video has also reignited a national conversation about the place of Igbo people in Nigeria's political leadership. Since 1999, the presidency has rotated between the North and the South, but the South-East has never produced a president or vice president. That exclusion has fuelled agitation for an Igbo presidency, particularly among younger voters. The officer's remarks, however ignorant, reflect a sentiment that exists in some quarters. Confronting that sentiment requires more than arrests and disciplinary actions. It requires a sustained national commitment to the principle that competence, character and vision, not ethnicity, should determine who leads Nigeria.
As of Friday evening, the police had not issued an official statement on the officer's identity or the status of any investigation. The officer remains unidentified to the public, and it is unclear whether he has been taken into custody or is still serving. The Force has previously said it would not confirm whether officers in similar viral videos were subject to disciplinary investigation. For now, the only certainty is that the officer in the video has been identified, and the question of what happens next is a test of the Force's commitment to the rule of law and its own code of conduct.
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