A Nigerian star singer BXN formerly known as Buju trended all day yesterday due to the face-off he had with the men of the Nigerian police force in Lagos.
While he was venting his anger on his Twitter handle due to the ordeal, the star singer boasted to have spat on the face of one of the police officers that accosted him. His fans and lover of his craft were all hailing him to have stood his ground and spat on the face of a police officer that was harassing him.
The ignorance of that tweet made by the star musician where he boasted to have spat on the face of a police officer is deafening. Those hailing him to have done that in his comment section were also quite ignorant of the laws of Nigeria. They had no idea that spitting on a police officer, attacking a police officer, pushing a police officer or making any aggressive contact, or having a physical confrontation with a police officer or any member of any law enforcement agency in Nigeria is a criminal offense as it amounts to assault and obstruction of the course of justice which is a serious offense regarded as a felony in the Nigerian criminal justice system and it is punishable with at least 3 years imprisonment term.
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While Nigerian police officers are fond of harassing innocent citizens and abusing their powers; the recent works of the police authorities and the Inspector General of police of chiding the abusive officers, and punishing those found abusing their powers should be commended and in other note, citizens should not be quick to take laws into their hands by being confrontational with officers of the law; law enforcement agents are representative of the government and it is the government that has empowered them to do their job and any affront or confrontation or aggression toward officers of the law is aggression against the government of the federal republic of Nigeria and this is tagged a felony punishable with a jail term
Reproducing the provisions of s.356 of the criminal code here which criminalizes and punishes assaulting a police officer, thus;
Any person who:
(1) assaults another with intent to commit a felony, or with intent to resist or prevent the lawful arrest or detention of himself or of any other person; or
(2) assaults, resists, or wilfully obstructs a police officer while acting in the execution of his duty, or any person acting in aid of a police officer while so acting; or
(3) unlawfully assaults, resists, or obstructs, any person engaged in the lawful execution of any process against any property, or in making a lawful distress, while so engaged; or
(4) assaults, resists, or obstructs any person engaged in such lawful execution of process, or in making a lawful distress, with intent to rescue any property lawfully taken under such process or distress; or
(5) assaults any person on account of any act done by him in the execution of any duty imposed on him by law; or
(6) assaults any person in pursuance of any unlawful conspiracy respecting any manufacture, trade, business, or occupation, or respecting any person or persons concerned or employed in any manufacture, trade, business, or occupation, or the wages of any such person or person,
is guilty of a felony and is liable to imprisonment for three years.
On this note, if the wrath of the law is to descend on the star musician Buju who is loved by many he may be sent to jail for assaulting a police officer but we hope that justice will be delivered with mercy.