The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command has officially dismissed a viral video showing Peter Obi, the 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, addressing police personnel as “misleading.”
The command stated that the footage has been manipulated to create a “false political narrative.”
According to the police, the video stems from an incident in 2024 when officers were deployed to the Labour Party national headquarters in Utako, Abuja, to restore order during an internal leadership dispute.
In a statement released on Monday, the FCT Police Public Relations Officer, SP Josephine Adeh, explained that the video was edited with political campaign posters and captions to falsely imply a political endorsement or engagement.
“The attention of the FCT Police Command has been drawn to a video circulating on social media depicting some Nigeria Police personnel being addressed by Mr. Peter Obi,” the statement read.
“The Command also observed that the video has been altered with political campaign posters and captions to create a mischievous and false narrative suggesting a political engagement or endorsement from personnel of the Nigeria Police Force. This misrepresentation is entirely false and does not reflect the true facts of the incident,” she said.
The FCT Police clarified that the interaction was purely incidental. Officers were present to manage unrest, and Obi, who was at the scene, simply addressed the officers to explain the circumstances of the party dispute.
“The interaction was purely incidental to the police response and had no political undertone whatsoever as otherwise mischievously suggested in the viral video,” she stated.
Following the circulation of the clip, the Commissioner of Police for the FCT Command, CP Ahmed Muhammed Sanusi, has ordered a full investigation into the origin of the altered content.
The command emphasized that it remains an impartial, apolitical institution and warned against the dissemination of misleading information.
“The Command will not allow its operational activities or personnel to be misrepresented or exploited for partisan propaganda or any other vested interest,” she said.
See video below:
