Navy Detains Officers After Military Brawl Erupts During Tinubu’s Bayelsa Visit

A 53-second video making the rounds online shows something you don’t see every day: Nigerian military personnel from different branches throwing punches at each other in broad daylight while civilians look on in disbelief.

The clash happened on Friday in Bayelsa State during President Tinubu’s visit to commission several projects, including a gas turbine plant and a 60-kilometre dual carriageway. According to accounts from both Vanguard and NaijaNews, a driver in a Hilux marked “Naval Police” stepped out of his vehicle to confront another driver over what appears to have been a traffic dispute. Words were exchanged. He got back in his car. Then a soldier armed with a rifle walked up and threw a punch at the Naval Police driver.

What followed was a full-on brawl. Personnel from both vehicles piled in. Blows landed. Civilians watched. Someone filmed the whole thing on their phone and dumped it on social media, because of course they did.

The Nigerian Navy moved fast to contain the fallout. Navy Captain Abi Folorunso, the Director of Naval Information, posted on X that the affected personnel are in custody and “already undergoing appropriate administrative and disciplinary procedures in accordance with extant military regulations.” The Army has not issued a separate statement at the time of writing.

Here is what makes this awkward: Tinubu was in Bayelsa to talk about security. He told the crowd his government would “continue to equip and train security personnel to confront insurgency, banditry, and other violent threats.” Meanwhile, his own security detail was busy fighting each other outside the venue. You can’t write this kind of irony.

The Bayelsa State Government had declared Friday a work-free day and ordered markets shut so residents could welcome the President. Whether those same residents were impressed by the sideshow is another matter entirely.

No official explanation has been given for what triggered the original dispute. Was it a right-of-way disagreement on a blocked road? A territorial spat over who escorts the President? Or just two stressed-out drivers losing their heads? The video does not make the cause clear, and neither service has elaborated beyond confirming arrests.

Sources: Vanguard, NaijaNews