Police officers in Anambra State have refunded N1.4 million, which they allegedly extorted from four Nigerians.
PREMIUM TIMES earlier reported that a human rights activist, Harrison Gwamnishu, raised an alarm to police authorities over the officers’ alleged ‘abduction,’ torture and extortion of the victims in the South-eastern state.
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Mr Gwamnishu, in a post on his X handle on Sunday, had said that the officers who allegedly extorted the victim included the Officer-in-Charge and some operatives of the Anti-Cultism Unit of the police in Enugu-Ukwu, a community in Njikoka Local Government Area of the state.
The activist initially said the operatives extorted a total of N1,119,000 from the victims. He did not initially provide the identities or the number of victims.
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Refund of N1.4 million
Mr Gwamnishu, in another post on his X handle on Thursday, said the officers have now refunded the money to the victims.
“Following my post of 29th March 2026, officers of the Anti-Cultism Unit in Enugwu-Ukwu, Anambra Police Command have refunded the sum of one million, four hundred and eighty-five thousand Naira (N1,485,000) criminally extorted,” he wrote.
The activist said the officers involved in the incident have been identified, but did not name them.
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He identified the victims as Emmanuel Agu, Chukwuebuka David, Vitalis Njoku, and Tochukwu Joshua – all males.
Mr Gwamnishu said the victims were arbitrarily “arrested and tortured to confess to being members of a secret cult and forced to transfer the money” into accounts provided by the officers.
“The (Police) Complaint Response Unit (CRU) from the Office of the Inspector General of Police is currently in Awka to ensure the victims get justice,” he said.
How other police authorities helped
Mr Gwamnishu, in a video clip uploaded on the microblogging platform, said police authorities took up the matter immediately after the CRU and the Force New Media Officer, Aliyu Giwa, responded to his post.
“And just two days ago (Tuesday), the money was transferred back to the victims through an account they provided,” he said.
The clip showed a transaction receipt indicating that N1,485,000 was paid into an account belonging to Ugochukwu Iwundu, a Point of Sale operator, provided by the victims.
“Not just that, yesterday (Wednesday), a team of police officers from Abuja arrived in Awka, Anambra State, for this same matter,” he said.
He commended the Inspector-General of Police, Tunji Disu, the Head of the Complaint Response Unit, Annetie Iniedu, and other authorities for their prompt response.
Police confirm refund of the extorted money
The Police Complaint Response Unit has confirmed the refund of the money to the victims.
The unit, which reposted Mr Gwamnishu’s post announcing the refund of the extorted funds, said in its own post on the microblogging platform on Thursday that it appreciates the activist for providing Nigerians with feedback on the incident.
“No to impunity under the current leadership of the Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Rilwan Disu,” it wrote.
Police brutality, extortion and torture
Allegations of extortion, brutality, torture and even abduction against police operatives are not new in Nigeria; cases of police brutality, extortion, extrajudicial killings and other unprofessional activities in Nigeria have continued despite sanctions by police authorities, such as dismissal from service.
The latest incident occurred barely two weeks after police in Anambra State arrested and detained six senior officers who allegedly tortured and extorted N200,000 from a trader in Onitsha, the commercial hub of Anambra State.
In February, three officers were dismissed over alleged kidnapping, extorting N1.7 million and car snatching in Imo, another state in the South-east.
Two months ago, police operatives shot dead a private motorcyclist in Ebonyi State.
In November 2024, police operatives from the Crack Squad in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, shot dead a labourer and critically injured three others in the state.
A similar incident happened in Abakaliki in 2018 when a police officer shot and killed a commercial motorcyclist for allegedly refusing to give him a N50 bribe.
In August 2024, police operatives in Bayelsa State extorted N3 million from a Nigerian man at gunpoint.
The officers were subsequently arrested after the victim filed a complaint with the police.
The police operatives later returned the N3 million to the victim, about three weeks later.
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