The incident took place on Saturday night in the neighbourhood of the late officer in Mararaba area of Nasarawa State
A policeman has died from injuries sustained while saving his neighbour's daughter from a fire incident.
The fire incident took place on Saturday night in the neighbourhood of the late officer in Mararaba area of Nasarawa State.
The policeman, who until his death was attached to the Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) in Abuja, was said to have rushed into his neighbour's house to save the child that was trapped in the fire.
A resident of the area told PREMIUM TIMES that the policeman successfully rescued the child but sustained major injuries.
He was rushed to the hospital Saturday night but died on Sunday, the source said. "He is a hero, without him the neighbour's child would have died in the fire."
Officials at the NFIU confirmed the death of the policeman who was said to be attached to the mobile police unit before he was seconded to the NFIU.
PREMIUM TIMES could, however, not confirm the name of the policeman.
Police spokesperson Muyiwa Adejobi said the force headquarters was yet to be briefed on the matter at the time of this report.
"I can't speak because I've not been briefed and I can't confirm it," he said.
Other police officers interviewed for this story described the incident as touching, lamenting what police officers often go through to save lives of civilians.
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Battered police image
The action of the late policeman occurs at a time the police is trying to repair its battered image.
Over the years, Nigerians have had negative perceptions about the police due to the actions some of its officers.
Some of the illicit activities of the police led to the historic #ENDSARS protest in 2020: a youth-driven anti-police brutality demonstration across Nigeria.
The protest, which morphed from social media campaigns into street demonstrations in October 2020, was triggered by the excesses of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), a now-disbanded police tactical unit notorious for cruelty against crime suspects.
Although SARS activities and general issues of police brutality, including unlawful arrests, torture, and extrajudicial killings, were at its core, the protest became a platform for demanding government's decisive action against insecurity, corruption, economic woes and general maladministration.
