Victoria Alo, a student from Abdu Gusau Polytechnic in Zamfara State, shared her experience of being assaulted by a mobile police officer at a checkpoint on the Sokoto-Gusau highway. In a video posted on X by Zagazola Makama, a security expert, on Monday evening, Alo can be seen next to the road, her clothing apparently stained with blood.
In an audio account, Alo recounted that the officer had threatened her with death or severe injury for not revealing her place of origin. She was heading to Sokoto State for her National Identification Number (NIN) registration when her vehicle was halted by the police. Alo stated that one of the officers attacked her, calling her a prostitute for not having a student ID and ignoring her explanation that she was a student.
Alo narrated, “I was travelling to Sokoto that afternoon for my NIN. [I decided to go] before we finished the semester to do my NIN so that I could use it for service. On getting to the checkpoint, they stopped our vehicle, and the driver stopped. I had my earphones on because I was watching a movie. He now came to my door side and said, ‘Hello.’ He hit the door. And he was asking questions about my indigeneship. I told him I was coming from Talata Mafara, that I was a student, and that I was heading to Sokoto. Then I asked him why he wanted to know my indigene, considering that we don’t even know each other and he had no business asking me that. I told him that I was a student of Abdu Gusau Polytechnic. He demanded my student ID, which I didn’t have yet, and then my NIN, which I was actually going to get. Suddenly, he started accusing me of being a prostitute. A lecturer in the car defended me, saying I had clearly stated I was a student. But the officer threatened to break my head or kill me and actually hit me with a stick.”
It was later revealed by Makama that the officer involved was identified as Iliya Gabriel. Makama further disclosed that after the incident became widely known through social media, the police tried to silence Alo with a N100,000 bribe to prevent her from taking legal action. The incident has been reported to the police headquarters in Gusau.