Some police operatives have allegedly “kidnapped” and extorted N1 million from a Nigerian man in Enugu State, South-east Nigeria.
The incident happened on Saturday in Enugu State.
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How it happened
A social media user (@Mr_Robmichael1) raised an alarm via a post on his X handle, alleging that some police operatives had extorted N1 million from his younger brother.
“Nigerian Police officers in Enugu used a POS to collect N1m from my younger brother after kidnapping him and took him to (an) unknown village,” he wrote at 1:27 p.m. on Saturday.
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In a series of posts the same day, he narrated how the incident happened, pointing out that the operatives were from Awkunanaw Divisional Police Headquarters in Enugu.
The X user said the police operatives, who were manning a checkpoint, stopped the vehicle his brother boarded and asked all the passengers to alight for a stop-and-search operation.
He said his brother alighted with his luggage but left a small bag on his seat, which prompted the operatives to accuse him of hiding something in the bag.
“They (operatives) opened the small bag and found only perfumes and body spray inside, opened his main box, searched it, and discovered his medications.
“He (the brother) explained that he was taking antibiotics for a cold. They also found both an iPhone and an Android phone, prompting them to label him a fraudster,” he narrated.
The X user said the operatives forced the driver to leave and threatened to take his brother to the office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
He said when they got to a junction close to the EFCC facility, the operatives began to threaten the victim to “settle them” or they would take him inside the office of the anti-graft agency.
He said the operatives later took his brother to a bush and threatened to kill him if he did not pay them N3 million.
He said the operatives got angry after the brother received a credit alert which showed that he had money despite initially telling them he had no money.
“They pointed a gun at him and forced him to open his phone and bank app, which he did.
“They saw that he had a balance of 1 million naira and drove him to a nearby POS shop where they withdrew all the money from his account,” he said.
The X user said the brother was travelling to Umuahia but that the operatives later dropped him off at Peace Park in the Garriki Area of Enugu.
“That was when he called me and I contacted Daniel Ndukwe,” he said.
‘N1 million refunded’
The X user later announced that the N1 million had been refunded by the operatives following the intervention of police authorities in Enugu State.
“N1 Million naira recovered from Nigerian Police officers attached to Awkunanaw Police station, MTD, Garriki, Enugu,” he wrote.
He commended the police spokesperson in the state, Mr Ndukwe, a deputy superintendent of police, for his assistance.
He equally praised the Divisional Police Officer of the Awkunanaw Police Divisional Headquarters, Longinus Chukwuegu, for his intervention
Police react
Reacting via a post on X, Mr Ndukwe described the incident as “totally unacceptable.”
The police spokesperson said he had informed the X user over the phone after the recovery of the money that the refund by the operatives was not enough.
“The police officers involved will have to dance to the music they turned on,” he vowed.
“We don’t have a place for this in the Nigeria Police Force.”
Not the first time
Cases of police extortion in Nigeria have continued despite sanctions by police authorities, such as dismissal from service.
The latest incident occurred two months after the police in Ebonyi began an orderly room trial of officers filmed extorting motorists in the state.
In October, the police in Imo State began another orderly room trial of four officers seen in a viral video clip extorting motorists in the state.
About three months ago, police operatives in Bayelsa State extorted N3 million from a Nigerian man at gunpoint.
The officers were subsequently arrested after the victim petitioned police authorities.
The police operatives later returned the N3 million to the victim, about three weeks later.
The N3 million extortion occurred about two months after police operatives in Anambra State allegedly extorted N810,000 from a resident of the state in June.
Following pressure from various quarters, the operatives returned the money to the victim, some hours later.
Earlier in June, an operative was dismissed in Abia State for allegedly shooting dead an entrepreneur over his refusal to bribe him.
In March, another operative was dismissed while two others were suspended for allegedly extorting $3,000 from two Nigerians in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
In February, a Divisional Crime officer of Abraka Division in Delta State was also removed from office for allegedly extorting over N2 million.
This newspaper, later the same month, reported the detention of some operatives at the police headquarters in Abuja for allegedly extorting N30.3 million.
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