The Nigeria Police Force has transferred the Head of Public
Complaints Rapid Response Unit, Abayomi Shogunle, known for making
controversial comments on Twitter.
Shogunle, who is an Assistant Commissioner of Police, was
transferred to Nkalagu, a town in Ebonyi State.
The police officer stirred controversy on Twitter a few days ago
after saying that prostitution is a sin under the two main
religions practised by residents of the Federal Capital Territory,
thereby justifying the arrest and harassment of women, a comment
which was criticised by Amnesty International.
An online petition was launched by Segun Awosanya moments after
which garnered over 6,000 signatures of Nigerians.
Shogunle had also mocked the #EndSARS movement which was
propagated by victims of police extra-judicial killings and
harassment.
The senior police officer had last month advised Nigerians to
address roadside policemen in pidgin as this could help them avoid
being mistakenly shot by the police.
Expectedly, the news of Shogunle’s transfer attracted thousands
of comments on several social media platforms.
The Force Public Relations Officer, Frank Mba, confirmed
Shogunle’s transfer but did not state the reason for it.
His transfer has been trending on Twitter with #Nkalagu and
#AbayomiShogunle.
A former Director-General, Bureau of Public Service Reforms, Dr
Joe Abah, mocked Shogunle for his transfer to a town in Ebonyi and
not the capital.
Abah tweeted, “Ebonyi welcomes Yomi Shogunle to Nkalagu. Please
note: Nobody will call you ‘Buoda Yomi’ here; you will not be in
the state capital; you will be busy with serious issues and should
not have time to mis-yarn on Twitter; small boys will call you
‘punish’, not police.”
Dr. Anita Mudiaga described Shogunle’s transfer as a lesson to
public officers who make unguarded statements.
“We might all rejoice at Yomi Shogunle’s transfer to Nkalagu(and
it’s a small victory to be celebrated especially if it’ll make him
shut up) but the truth is public officers need to know that they
can lose their jobs when they make statements like that. He should
have been fired,” she tweeted.
Biola Kazeem, another user, said Shogunle should have been
sacked instead of being transferred.
“Ideally Yomi Shogunle should have been fired. His redeployment
might give us some catharsis here but if he was so power drunk and
condescending right here in public view. I pity the people in
Nkalagu where he is off the radar. I do not think his redeployment
is a victory really,” Kazeem tweeted.