On the evening of Sunday, April 26, 2026, a 28-year-old man named Mene Ogidi walked into the Effurun main motor park along the Warri–Sapele Expressway in Delta State to collect a waybill parcel that a friend had asked him to pick up. He never walked out. By nightfall, he was dead shot at least four times by a police officer who had been dispatched to take him into custody, not to execute him.
His death, captured on video and shared widely by human rights activist Harrison Gwamnishu, set off a national storm. In the footage, the handcuffed suspect is seen sitting on the ground, surrounded by armed police operatives, heard pleading to “explain everything” and insisting he had been misled by associates. Moments later, an officer in civilian clothing cocked his weapon and fired. The Nigeria Police Force has since confirmed the killing and named the officer as ASP Nuhu Usman, popularly known in local circles as “Ogbegbe.”
What happened between that motor park and the Ekpan police station that evening is not a mystery. It is an account of a man who cooperated, begged for mercy, and offered to lead authorities to the source of the crime and was killed anyway, in the presence of fellow officers, in the car park of a police station.
According to accounts pieced together from witness testimony and official police statements, Mena Ogidi arrived at the Effurun main park on Sapele Road sometime on Sunday to collect a parcel. When park officials informed him the waybill package was heavier than expected and would cost more to collect, questions were raised. They asked what was inside. Ogidi reportedly told them he had been sent by a friend to pick it up. When they pressed him further and eventually compelled him to open the parcel, they found a Beretta pistol and four rounds of live ammunition.
The discovery alarmed park officials. They restrained Ogidi, tying his hands and legs, and blocked the park gate over fears of a possible gang connection. Then they did what was correct they called the police. Specifically, they contacted ACP Aliyu Shaba, the Uvwie Area Commander, reporting the situation and requesting that officers come to take the suspect and investigate the gun-running network behind the parcel.
Ogidi, throughout the ordeal at the park, did not fight. He cried. He begged for mercy. He told them he knew nothing about the gun, that he had only been doing a favour for a friend. And he made an offer that, had any officer chosen to honour it, might have led police to an actual arms trafficking network: he said he would take them directly to the person who sent him to collect the package.
Instead, what followed was the complete opposite of lawful policing.
ACP Aliyu Shaba mandated a patrol team, headed by ASP Nuhu Usman, to proceed to the motor park and bring the suspect to the station. The team arrived. A trending video on social media showed the shooting of the suspect, who had been restrained by police officers attached to the Delta police command.
By witness accounts, the moment ASP Usman nicknamed “Ogbegbe” arrived at the scene and spotted the pistol, he was seized by what those present described as the euphoria of a crowd that had gathered. He was not focused on procedure. He was performing for an audience. He cocked his gun and fired into Mena Ogidi’s hand. His team then lifted the wounded, now-bleeding young man into their patrol Toyota Sienna vehicle bearing the inscription: “The Nigeria Police Force Effurun Area Command, Uvwie.”
At this point, Ogidi was still alive.
He was in pain. He had been shot. But he was breathing, suffering, and capable of being taken to a medical facility, to a holding cell, to a commander who could debrief him and extract the intelligence he had offered to provide freely. None of that happened.
The patrol vehicle arrived at the Ekpan police station. What should have happened next is straightforward: ASP Usman should have reported directly to ACP Aliyu Shaba, the Area Commander who had authorised and dispatched the mission, and handed over the suspect. Standard procedure. Basic law.
Instead, in the station’s car park, they pulled Mena Ogidi out of the vehicle. ASP Usman fired again three more times. Mena Ogidi was killed on the grounds of the very institution that is constitutionally mandated to protect citizens and uphold the rule of law.
A disturbing video went viral showing the suspect already handcuffed and begging for mercy being shot at close range in the head. His body was subsequently lifted and thrown into a police operational vehicle.
ACP Aliyu Shaba, hearing the gunshots from inside the station on that Sunday evening, rushed down immediately. What he found prompted him to act with the urgency the situation demanded. He ordered ASP Usman tactically disarmed. He was handcuffed. His legs were chained. The entire patrol team was detained.
ACP Shaba briefed the Commissioner of Police, and by Monday, April 27, ASP Usman and his team had been transferred to the state police headquarters in Asaba. By Tuesday, they were transferred again this time to Zone 5 in Benin, and subsequently to Force Headquarters in Abuja.
The Delta State Commissioner of Police, CP Yemi Oyeniyi, condemned in strong terms the extrajudicial killing of Mene Ogidi, aged 28, which occurred on April 26, 2026, in Effurun, Delta State. The officer was said to have discharged his firearm in violation of Force Order 237 and the Standard Operating Procedure of the Nigeria Police Force, leading to the suspect’s death.
The leadership of the Nigeria Police Force directed the immediate transfer of the officer and his team to Force Headquarters, Abuja, where they would face the Force Disciplinary Committee for summary disciplinary measures and prosecution.
Inspector-General of Police Olatunji Disu also ordered a comprehensive investigation into the killing and directed that all officers involved be subjected to disciplinary procedures. In a statement, the IGP’s office said: “The leadership of the Nigeria Police Force has zero tolerance for extrajudicial actions, abuse of authority, and any conduct that undermines public trust.”
CP Oyeniyi extended his condolences to Ogidi’s family and assured the public that justice would be served.
The name ASP Nuhu Usman carries with it a reputation that preceded this killing. Human rights activist Harrison Gwamnishu had earlier alleged that Usman Nuhu, a former Rapid Response Squad (RRS) operative with a history of alleged extrajudicial killings, was involved in the Effurun incident and that other officers might be shielded.
The fact that Usman was allowed to lead a field operation, despite such a history, raises foundational questions about vetting, supervision, and accountability within the Nigeria Police Force. How many times must a name appear in allegations before action is taken before a patrol commander is pulled from the field? How many Mena Ogidis must die before the institutional reflex shifts from damage control to genuine prevention?
The officers present at the station car park when Usman fired those final three shots also have questions to answer. Social media users and concerned Nigerians demanded that other team members who stood by and did not attempt to stop the officer be arrested and disciplined as well. Complicity through inaction is still complicity.
The incident has once again brought attention to recurring allegations of extrajudicial killings, extortion, and misconduct within the police system, despite repeated reforms and disciplinary actions. In recent months, several similar cases have been recorded across different states, raising questions about internal accountability mechanisms within the force. Human rights groups have continued to call for deeper structural reforms, warning that isolated punishments without systemic change may not stop recurring abuses.
The video of the shooting surfaced barely two days after soldiers attached to the Guards Brigade in the Federal Capital Territory were accused of killing a National Youth Service Corps member inside his room, a case in which the army claimed the corps member was caught in crossfire during an armed robbery response, but the deceased’s parents debunked the claim, insisting he was shot in his locked apartment.
Two killings, two institutions, one week. Nigeria is watching not just for the parade, not just for the statement but for the trial.
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Mena Ogidi was 28 years old. He went to a motor park to do a favour for a friend. He found himself caught in something he may have known nothing about. He begged for an explanation. He offered to help. He was shot, loaded into a vehicle, driven to a police station, and shot again until he was dead.
That is not policing. That is execution. And the uniform worn while pulling the trigger does not change what it is.
