The police in Abia State, South-east Nigeria, have dismissed three officers for alleged misconduct.
The police spokesperson in Abia State, Maureen Chinaka, announced this in a statement on Friday.
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Ms Chinaka, a deputy superintendent of police, said the officers were dismissed by the Commissioner of Police in Abia State, Danladi Isa.
The police spokesperson identified the dismissed officers as Jonas Nnamdi, James Daniel, and Ifeanyi Emeka.
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Mr Nnamdi was a sergeant attached to Police Area Command in Aba, while Mr Daniel, a corporal, was attached to the Department of Operations of the police in Umuahia.
Their colleague, Mr Emeka, also a corporal, was attached to Eziama Divisional Police Headquarters in the state.
Why the three officers were dismissed
Ms Chinaka explained that the three officers were dismissed for “discreditable conduct” involving conspiracy, abduction and extortion of their unsuspecting victims.
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The police spokesperson said the three officers were arrested on 29 January alongside two other unnamed civilians by a divisional police officer in the Abayi Area of the state.
She said the officers were arrested after they were found to be armed with an electric baton, an assault rifle, and a Beretta pistol.
Ms Chinaka said the officers allegedly “conspired and hired” a minibus, abducted some civilians along Port Harcourt Expressway, threatened and extorted them and thereafter demanded extra money from their families for their release.
“An investigation/orderly room trial was initiated by the (state police) command, and the investigation confirmed their involvement in the unprofessional conduct which are prejudicial to discipline and unbecoming of officers of the Nigeria Police Force, leading to their dismissal,” she said.
“Their official accoutrements have been retrieved by the Command’s Provost, and they cease to be members of the force.”
The police spokesperson said the dismissed officers and their civilian accomplices have been handed over to the State Criminal Investigation Department for prosecution.
‘Bad eggs will not be allowed’
Ms Chinaka said the Commissioner of Police in Abia State, Mr Isa, has reaffirmed the command’s zero tolerance for corruption and misconduct.
“Discipline and professionalism is the bedrock of the Nigeria Police Force,” the police commissioner said.
He assured Nigerians that “the command will not condone the activities of bad eggs in the force.”
Mr Isa emphasised that his leadership remains committed to the vision of the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, which is to ensure a professional, service-driven, and rule-of-law-compliant police force.
Not the first time
Cases of police extortion and other unprofessional activities in Nigeria have continued despite sanctions by police authorities, such as dismissal from service.
Many Nigerians have, at different times, been harassed, assaulted and extorted by police operatives.
In October, for instance, police in Ebonyi began an orderly room trial of officers filmed extorting motorists in the state.
Within the same period, 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 earlier, 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 returned the N3 million to the victim, about three weeks later.
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