The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has advised skit producers to show restraint, responsibility and decorum in the use of paraphernalia of law enforcement officers to avoid misconceptions and insinuations.
The advice came on the heels of a trending video where some men dressed in what looks like operational kits of the NDLEA were involved in what ridiculed the operational ethics of the anti-narcotics agency.
The spokesman of the agency, Femi Babafemi, in a statement on Tuesday said:
“We wishes to reiterate that a trending video of some persons wearing red jackets similar to the ones used by officers and men of the agency for operational purposes, operating in a minibus, is an old skit, which the agency had disclaimed a year old.”
Babafemi said: “The agency had in a well-publicized statement released on Saturday 21st May 2022 stated that it had established, following series of public enquiries, that the video with screenshot pictures attached to the statement is a skit produced by one Mathew C Eze who lives in the Lekki area of Lagos.”
He lamented that: “A year after, the video has returned to the social media space, a development that has led to several enquiries from concerned members of the public on the authenticity of the content of the video.”
He said: “We will like to reiterate again that the confusion the controversial video has created in the minds of members of the public underscores the need for some social media content producers to show restraint, responsibility and decorum in how they misuse paraphernalia of law enforcement officers to avoid misconceptions and insinuations.”
He warned that: “The agency will also like to remind those fond of this kind of indiscretion, especially the misuse of its official jackets to mislead and create false impressions, that such has consequences.”
Michael Olugbode in Abuja
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