The Nigerian Police, Force headquarters, Abuja, has detained some officers over an alleged extortion of N30.3 million from a Nigerian.
The Force spokesperson, Olumuyiwa Adejobi disclosed this in a statement posted on X on Friday.
Mr Adejobi, an assistant police commissioner, did not disclose the identities of the officers but said they served at the Special Tactical Squad in Abuja.
“The Nigeria Police wishes to reveal and announce that significant progress has been made in apprehending the officers and their accomplices responsible for this unprofessional conduct as the squad who initially escaped upon commencement of investigations have been arrested and are currently in custody.
“The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun as part of his commitment to upholding the highest standards of integrity and accountability within the Nigeria Police Force, has ordered the commencement of disciplinary proceedings to ensure that justice is served swiftly and decisively,” Mr Adejobi said.
Background
A human rights activist in Delta State, Harrison Gwamnishu drew the attention of the police authorities to the extortion via his X handle.
Mr Adejobi, without mentioning Mr Gwamnishu’s name, acknowledged getting notice of the alleged extortion on the microblogging platform.
Mr Gwamnishu first posted the alleged extortion on 25 January posted on X , which he initially pegged at N29.9 million.
Two days later – 27 January he posted an update, increasing the figure to N30.3 million and identified the accused officers as serving at the Inspector General of Police Tactical Squad (IGP-STS).
“Their office is located at the former Abattoir, former SARS office Abuja. They have been identified. (The) POS have been identified too,” he wrote on X, apparently the money was paid to the police officers through a POS agent.
Hours after, the Force spokesperson reacted to the tweet saying “We have taken over this case at the FHQ. The victims and Harrsion came to my office on Friday, and we have commenced an investigation into the case. Justice will be served.”
Mr Gwamnishu on 5 February wrote on X that aside from the POS agent and the police driver who are in detention over the N30.3 million extortion, “The other four police officers involved have been in hiding since 25 January”. He called on the police to declare them wanted.
The activist, who said he was once a victim of “wrongful detention” has been employing the microblogging platform to expose cases of police extortion.
He drew the attention of the police in Rivers State to an alleged $3,000 extortion by some officers in the state. The police investigated the allegation, recovered the money and returned it to the victim, and then recommended three officers for dismissal.
Mr Gwamnishu, also through X, notified the police in Delta State of an alleged N2.4 million extortion by a divisional crimes officer in Abraka area, which prompted the commissioner of police in Delta to remove the officer from his post.
He also provided evidence to support his allegation that the Divisional Police Officer in Abraka got N900,000 from the money. The police spokesperson in the state, Bright Edafe, told PREMIUM TIMES the police were investigating the allegation.
Cases of police extortion have been on the increase since the beginning of the year, a development that caused the IGP to issue a statement warning officers to desist from using his name to extort Nigerians.
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