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An Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), Zyad Ibn Isah, has fired back at the United Kingdom Conservative Party leader, Kemi Badenoch, over her latest comments about the Nigeria Police Force (NPF).
The British politician of Nigerian origin has developed a penchant for spotlighting the flaws in the Nigerian system, a rhetoric she explored during her campaigns for her current political position.
Badenoch has so much irked many Nigerians with her perceived negative remarks about the country where she spent most of her childhood.
In a trending interview with a US media outfit, The Free Press, she was asked whether she trusted the British Police.
In her response, the UK opposition leader said while the British Police officers were professionals, the same could not be said of their Nigerian counterparts.
She went on to recall how police officers allegedly stole her brother's shoes and watch during her stay in Nigeria.
“I do. My experience with the police in Nigeria was very negative, and coming to the UK, my first experience with the police was very positive. The police in Nigeria would rob us.
“I remember the police stealing my brother’s shoes and his watch. It’s a very poor country, so people do all sorts of things.”
“They took his shoe and his watch?” the interviewer exclaimed in shock.
Badenoch continued: “It’s a very poor country. People do all sorts of things. So, giving people a gun is just a license to intimidate. But that’s not just the problem. That is not the bar we should use for the British Police. When I was burgled, for example, the police were there. They were helpful before they eventually caught the person. This was in 2004, that was 20 years ago.”
ASP fires back at Badenoch
Responding in a social media post, Isah reminded the British politician what the London Metropolitan Police used to be before certain reforms were implemented to get them to their current level.
The ASP, who is a media aide to the chairman, Police Service Commission, said while the NPF was far from being perfect, reforms such as the ones introduced in Britain could bring them to the top level.
“I would recommend David Rose’s “In the Name of the Law” to Kemi Badenoch. The truth is, the London Metropolitan Police was a mess in the 1960s, 1970s, and even the 1980s. It was through various reforms and even a change of name that they became what they are today.
"If the questioner had asked a British citizen in the 1960s or 1970s whether they trusted the British police, I doubt they would have said yes. The situation was that bad.
"Nigeria and its police force are not perfect—we know that. But we will rise from the ashes, just like the UK and its police force. Aunty Kemi should enjoy her new pastime of denigrating her fatherland while it lasts,” he wrote.