8A viral video showing policemen allegedly assaulting a pregnant woman over third-party vehicle insurance enforcement has sparked outrage in Akwa Ibom State.0
The video, which has been widely shared on social media, reportedly features officers from the Itam Police Division forcefully dragging the woman until she collapsed.
The footage, posted by a Facebook user, Mayor Sylvester, has drawn condemnation from many Nigerians.
Expressing his frustration, Sylvester wrote: “This is what the Itam Police Station in Akwa Ibom State has turned the third-party insurance enforcement into. They are behaving like animals. These are the kind of irresponsible characters recruited into the force. Imagine how a pregnant woman is being roughhandled—I just hope her baby is still alive.”
He further suggested that if the police were serious about enforcing third-party insurance, they should collaborate with insurance companies and have representatives stationed at checkpoints to facilitate immediate policy renewals.
Efforts to obtain a response from the Akwa Ibom State Commissioner of Police, Bala Mohammed Azare, and the Command’s spokesperson, Tifon John, were unsuccessful, as calls and text messages went unanswered at the time of filing this report.
Meanwhile, the incident drew a crowd of onlookers, many of whom expressed shock and anger over the officers’ aggressive actions against the pregnant woman.