The fatal shooting of 28-year-old Mene Ogidi in Effurun, Delta State, has reopened an old national wound: police power without restraint. Nigeria cannot afford another cycle of public rage, street confrontation and institutional denial. If the authorities want to prevent the gathering danger of another EndSARS-style eruption, they must move beyond statements of condemnation to visible justice, enforceable accountability, transparent policing and a citizen-centred security compact.

The Old Ghost Returns

The more things change, the more they appear to remain the same.

Nearly six years after the EndSARS protests forced Nigeria to confront the culture of police intimidation, extortion and impunity, another disturbing incident has again placed law enforcement under public scrutiny. The fatal shooting of Mene Ogidi, also referenced in some citizen accounts as Mena Ogidi, in Effurun, Delta State, has become more than a criminal-justice story. It is now a test of whether Nigeria has learnt anything from the crisis of police legitimacy that brought young people onto the streets in 2020.

According to police statements and media reports, Ogidi, a 28-year-old suspect, had been apprehended at a motor park after allegedly attempting to receive or waybill a parcel said to contain a Beretta pistol and four rounds of ammunition. Officers attached to the Effurun Area Command were reportedly called to take him into lawful custody. The team leader, identified as ASP Nuhu Usman aka “Ogbegbe”, was later accused by police authorities of discharging his firearm in violation of police regulations, resulting in Ogidi’s death. The officer was arrested and transferred to Force Headquarters, Abuja, for disciplinary proceedings and possible prosecution.

The trending video is indeed more stark than the official Police description. Mene Ogidi was seen in the video, bound and sitting on the ground, crying out that he had been sent by someone in Sapele to waybill the parcel. He was heard begging to take the Police Officers to the person who sent him. Apparently, in his restrained position, he posed no threat at all to the Police Officers or members of the public who had gathered to watch the spectacle. Surprisingly, ASP Nihi Usman was seen fondling with his rifle until another officer came to assist him. Usman then succeeded in corking his gun and shooting the defenseless Ogidi on his hand. 

Ogidi was then bundled into the Police van. It was later reported that at the station, rather than go up to report the matter to his boss who was waiting for the team, Usman later released a volley of 3 bullets into Ogidi, ensuring that he killed the 28-year-old on the spot

That official acknowledgement is significant. But it is not enough.

The point is not whether Ogidi had questions to answer. If a suspect is found around an unlawful weapon, the state has a duty to investigate, preserve evidence, identify accomplices, protect the public and prosecute under the law. But lawful suspicion is not a licence for instant punishment. In a constitutional democracy, arrest is not conviction. Custody is not execution. A suspect’s life remains protected by law until a court decides otherwise.

This is the line Nigeria must never again allow any officer to cross.

Why This Case Feels Bigger Than One Incident

The Effurun incident has travelled quickly because it fits a familiar pattern: viral footage, citizen outrage, official condemnation, disciplinary promises and renewed public anxiety about police conduct.

The concern is not isolated to Delta State. Across Nigeria, citizens still complain of harassment, arbitrary stops, extortion, intimidation, rough handling, unlawful searches and abuse of power. Some of these encounters occur during legitimate security operations against kidnapping, armed robbery, “one-chance” criminal gangs and violent groups. But the existence of real crime does not excuse unlawful policing.

That is the dilemma. Nigeria needs stronger security. But it also needs security that respects rights.

When police operations are conducted without discipline, identification, documentation and accountability, the security system loses moral authority. The public begins to see law enforcement not as protection but as a risk. That was the emotional fuel behind EndSARS. It was not only about one police unit. It was about a culture of fear.

The uploaded source material captures this anxiety clearly, linking the Effurun shooting to broader public concern over alleged police abuse, extortion, arbitrary arrests and the fear that unresolved misconduct could feed a new wave of youth anger.

The Law Is Clear: Suspicion Is Not a Death Sentence

The legal issue is straightforward. Even where police believe a suspect has committed an offence, the proper route is arrest, investigation, evidence preservation, prosecution and trial. Nigeria’s Constitution guarantees the right to life, dignity, fair hearing and personal liberty. The Police Act also sets standards for lawful conduct, including restrictions on arbitrary and proxy arrests.

Recent jurisprudence has strengthened citizen accountability tools. In March 2026, a Federal High Court in Warri affirmed that Nigerians have the constitutional right to record police officers performing public duties in public spaces. The court also held that officers involved in stop-and-search operations must be properly identifiable and that attempts to harass, threaten, arrest or seize devices from citizens recording police conduct are unlawful.

That ruling matters because the camera has become one of the citizen’s last defences against impunity. It is not perfect. Videos can be incomplete. Context can be contested. But without recordings, many abuses would remain buried in silence.

The lesson for police authorities is not to fear recordings. It is to professionalise conduct so that recordings become evidence of discipline, not abuse.

The Police Response: Necessary, But Not Yet Sufficient

The Nigeria Police Force has condemned the fatal shooting and said the officer and his team would face disciplinary action and possible prosecution. Reports also indicate that the Delta State Commissioner of Police ordered the arrest of the officer and transfer of the case through the appropriate disciplinary channels.

This response is important. It suggests that the police leadership understands the gravity of the case.

But Nigerians have heard condemnation before. They have heard “zero tolerance” before. They have heard promises of justice before. What they now require is proof.

Proof means a transparent investigation. Proof means preserving all available evidence. Proof means taking statements from transport union officials, witnesses, officers at the scene and command supervisors. Proof means reviewing the chain of command. Proof means explaining how an arrest operation became a fatal encounter. Proof means public updates that do not prejudice the process but reassure citizens that the matter is not being quietly buried.

If the facts support criminal prosecution, the case must not end as an internal disciplinary file. It must proceed through the courts.

The Real Danger: A Trust Deficit Becoming a Street Crisis

The phrase EndSARS 2 should not be used casually. But neither should it be dismissed arrogantly.

EndSARS was not born in one day. It was built over years of unresolved grievances: extortion at checkpoints, profiling of young people, abuse of detainees, unlawful searches, fear of armed officers, weak complaint systems and the belief that justice was impossible.

That same trust deficit is what Nigeria must now confront.

Young Nigerians are more connected, more expressive and less willing to accept official silence than previous generations. They document incidents. They mobilise outrage quickly. They compare official statements against video evidence. They do not instinctively trust institutions. When they believe a system protects its own more than it protects citizens, anger hardens.

The state can respond in two ways. It can treat every complaint as an attack on the police. Or it can treat public anger as an early warning signal.

The wiser course is reform.

Bad Policing Is Bad Economics

Police misconduct is not only a human-rights problem. It is also an economic problem.

No economy can thrive where citizens fear arbitrary force. Traders need predictable movement. Logistics operators need safe roads. Young professionals need confidence to commute. SMEs need security without extortion. Investors need the rule of law. Night-time commerce needs disciplined policing. Tourism, entertainment, transport, informal trade and digital work all suffer when public security becomes a source of anxiety.

For a country struggling with unemployment, inflation, capital flight and weak productivity, policing cannot remain outside the economic conversation. Every unlawful checkpoint, every extorted driver, every abused entrepreneur, every intimidated young worker and every unresolved killing adds to Nigeria’s hidden cost of doing business.

A fair police system is not charity. It is economic infrastructure.

Security agencies are part of the investment climate. When they behave professionally, they reduce risk. When they act lawlessly, they increase the national risk premium.

How to Prevent Another EndSARS Moment

Nigeria does not need another panel of promises. It needs enforceable reforms that citizens can see.

1. Swift and transparent justice in the Effurun case

The fatal shooting of Mene Ogidi must become a model of institutional accountability. The officer involved should face disciplinary and legal processes without delay. If criminal liability is established, prosecution must follow. The public should receive periodic updates.

2. Mandatory body cameras for tactical and patrol teams

Body cameras will not solve everything, but they create evidence, protect citizens and protect honest officers from false allegations. They should begin with high-risk units: anti-robbery squads, tactical teams, patrol teams and stop-and-search units.

3. Full officer identification during public operations

Every officer in public-facing operations must wear visible identification or display valid police identity as required by law and affirmed by the courts. Anonymous policing breeds impunity.

4. A national police misconduct dashboard

Complaints, disciplinary outcomes, dismissals, prosecutions and compensation orders should be published in a quarterly public accountability report. Citizens need to see that misconduct has consequences.

5. Independent complaint channels that actually work

The public must be able to report abuse safely through digital, phone and physical channels. Complaints should generate tracking numbers and timelines. Whistle-blowers and victims must be protected.

6. Reform of arrest and custody procedures

All arrests should be documented immediately. Suspects should be booked, medically assessed where necessary, allowed access to counsel and family notification, and protected from coercion. Custody must be a legal process, not a zone of fear.

7. Training on force, rights and de-escalation

Police training must move beyond weapons handling. Officers need continuous education on proportional force, public communication, evidence preservation, crowd psychology, human rights and de-escalation.

8. Command responsibility

Supervisors must be held accountable for patterns of abuse under their teams. A rogue officer problem often becomes a leadership problem when warning signs are ignored.

9. Better welfare, but no excuse for extortion

Poor welfare contributes to corruption pressure, but it does not excuse abuse. Government must improve pay, insurance, housing and equipment while enforcing strict discipline against extortion.

10. Citizen education on rights and responsibilities

Citizens should know their rights during stops, searches and arrests. They should also understand lawful cooperation. A rights-aware society reduces both abuse and avoidable confrontation.

BRANDECONOMY Insight

Nigeria’s policing crisis is fundamentally a trust crisis.

The country is not short of laws. It is short of consequences. It is not short of official statements. It is short of institutional memory. It is not short of reform language. It is short of reform enforcement.

The Effurun shooting is therefore a national warning. If handled transparently, it can become a turning point in police accountability. If handled casually, it can deepen public cynicism and feed the dangerous belief that nothing has changed since EndSARS.

The police leadership must understand the moment. Young Nigerians are not merely angry about one incident. They are angry about a pattern. They are angry about the humiliation of being profiled. They are angry about the fear of checkpoints. They are angry about officers who act as if uniform confers immunity. They are angry about a system where the poor often meet the law as intimidation, not protection.

Yet Nigeria must also be careful. The answer to police abuse cannot be anti-police chaos. The country needs effective policing. Communities need protection from armed crime, kidnapping, cult violence, robbery and organised criminal networks. But effective policing and lawful policing are not opposites. The best police institutions are strong precisely because they are accountable.

This is where leadership matters.

If the Inspector-General, state commissioners, the Police Service Commission, the Ministry of Police Affairs, the National Assembly and civil society act with seriousness, Nigeria can prevent another spiral. But if public outrage is met with delay, defensiveness or token punishment, the state will again be gambling with social peace.

The lesson of EndSARS is not that young people protest too much. It is that institutions listened too late.

Nigeria still has time to listen early.

The killing of Mene Ogidi should not be reduced to another viral outrage. It should become a decisive test of Nigeria’s commitment to lawful policing.

A suspect deserves investigation. A family deserves justice. The public deserves accountability. The police deserve a professional institution that is not repeatedly dragged down by the actions of officers who undermine trust.

To prevent the danger of another EndSARS-style eruption, Nigeria must make this principle unmistakable: no officer is above the law, no suspect is outside the protection of the law, and no democracy can survive policing by fear.