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A man has accused police operatives in Rivers State of assaulting him and forcing him to transfer N444,000 from his bank account to them after a late-night checkpoint stop.
The man, Miracle Ejiofor, made the allegation in a Facebook post on Friday, where he shared photos showing bruises on his head and hands and a screenshot of an alleged transfer of N444,000 to a Point of Sale (POS) account belonging to Chizoma Anthony.
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As of Saturday morning, the post had attracted over 700 comments and more than 160 shares, sparking outrage among Facebook users.
The incident
In his post, Mr Ejiofor said the incident occurred shortly after he left his estate to buy petrol for his car and generator.
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“I never want(ed) to make this post here because I don’t want my mom to see it and start thinking, worrying, or crying,” he wrote.
According to him, he was returning home around 12:30 a.m. when he was pulled over at a police checkpoint near his residence.
“They asked me to stop, I did, and they asked for papers (car particulars), I showed them. They asked for other things, I gave them. Now, about to leave, they said I should come down (from the car), that my car is a stolen car, then one of the officers slapped me twice because I was trying to explain.”
He said the officers then handcuffed him and forced him into their vehicle.
“They brought two different handcuffs and cuffed my hands then they pushed me into a blue Sienna and one of them took my keys and drove off.”
Alleged beating and forced transfer
Mr Ejiofor alleged that the officers drove him to Atali town in Igbo Etche, where they searched his phone and demanded access to his bank account.
“They started searching my phone, and all they saw was just iPhones and nothing incriminating. Then they started searching my bank account, but I didn’t want to open it, so they started beating me mercilessly. Then I saw blood gushing.”
He said he eventually opened the account after the alleged assault.
“That was when I opened the account, and they sent my 444k to a POS account, and they drove me back to Obiri Ikwerre flyover and gave me my car keys.”
According to him, valuables were also missing from his car when it was returned.
“When I checked my car, they’d already stolen all the cash in my car plus other important stuff.”
He described the experience as “cruelty meted down on me.”
When contacted, the police spokesperson in the state, Grace Iringe-Koko, said she was not aware of the incident but promised to investigate it and provide an update.
“I will find out because I don’t have any report like that. Somebody can go to Facebook and write something. He is supposed to come to the police complaint unit. I’ll find out because I have no report of such,” Ms Iringe-Koko, a chief superintendent of police, told PREMIUM TIMES on Saturday.
READ ALSO: Saving the police from itself, By Azu Ishiekwene
Recurring extortion allegations
There have been frequent allegations of extortion and abuse by police officers in Nigeria.
In February 2024, PREMIUM TIMES reported that the police detained officers accused of extorting N30 million from a victim.
Also, in February 2024, an officer was dismissed for extorting $3,000, while another officer faced sanctions over an alleged N2.4 million extortion, this newspaper reported.
The police authorities earlier this year removed a Divisional Police Officer accused of extorting N2.5 million from a woman.
