Were 6 police officers recently arrested in Imo State for assaulting student?

Claim: A Facebook user shared a post stating that six police officers were recently arrested in Imo State for assaulting a student.

Verdict: Misleading! While the narrative about the assault shared on social media with the attached image is true, it is not related to a recent incident in April 2025.  We traced it to an event that occurred in 2023.

Full Text

Allegations of police violence are sadly nothing new in Nigeria. From the #EndSARS movement to numerous viral clips of abuse, the trust between citizens and law enforcement has been fractured time and again. 

In line with a similar narrative, a Facebook user,  @Young Journalist, shared a lengthy post on April 26, 2025, claiming six police officers were arrested in Imo state for assaulting a student. 

“Breaking News! Six police officers were arrested in Imo State for assaulting a student. In a shocking incident in Imo State, six police officers have been arrested after threatening a student with a machete for refusing to unlock his phone. The officers involved are set to be dismissed immediately from the police force following this unacceptable act,” parts of the post read. 

When we encountered the post on May 15, 2025, it had garnered three comments, three likes, and six shares.

However, another Facebook post by  @Military KS and Queens provided an additional perspective. 

According to the Military KS and Queens, the Imo State Police Command had commenced the orderly room trial of the policemen who were caught in a viral video assaulting Imo State University students with a machete for refusing to unlock their phones. 

The post also lists the officers involved as: Inspector Amadi Sunday (the team leader), Inspector Amajuoji Charles, Sergeant Noachian Chinese, Sergeant Onwuka Emmanuel, Corporal Nzewuodo Goodness, and Police Constable Emmanuel Chimezie.

This post, viewed on May 15, 2025, received 437 likes, 143 comments, and 84 shares.

In the comment section,  @Sadiq Ibrahim wrote: “Nigerian police, they are so corrupt. Come to Lagos State to see how they treat people. Our Nigeria Police are corrupt.”

@Maryann added: “The annoying part is that they are all Igbo men assaulting a young Igbo man. Very bad of them.”

@Negedechukwu Jack, visibly agitated, responded, “I don’t believe this news. Tomorrow, dem go release dem and they will continue their work. Nigeria is my country. I don’t believe this news. Tomorrow you will hear they are repentant policemen.”

Given the sensitivity of the alleged incident and its similarity to past patterns of police brutality against citizens, DUBAWA decided to check the veracity of the claim.

Verification 

DUBAWA conducted a Google Reverse Image Search on the photos attached to the post. The results led to a video on YouTube and other articles that indicated the incident happened and has been publicised online since 2023, showing that it is not recent.

Further inquiry led to a report published by Premium Times, which detailed the arrest of six police officers in Imo State after they were caught on camera assaulting two civilians with a machete. The incident occurred in April 2023. Nigeria’s national police spokesperson, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, corroborated the report in a post on X, confirming that the officers were arrested for “flogging and assaulting” a man in Imo State. He also listed the names of the six officers involved, and the names match those mentioned by @Military KS and Queens in their Facebook post.

Again, a thorough search was conducted to determine if there had been any recent updates or recurrence of the incident that might have prompted the Facebook claims. However, we found no information or news reports of a similar case in 2025.

Therefore, while the incident did occur, it took place in April 2023, not April 2025. 

Conclusion 

DUBAWA found that the Facebook post about the arrest of six police officers in Imo State for assaulting a student is misleading. While the incident did occur, it is not recent.