Police officers who allegedly extorted N1 million from Traveler identified, to face prosecution
Police officers who allegedly extorted N1 million from Traveler identified, to face prosecution
The Enugu State Police Command has announced that it will take legal action against officers from the Awkunanaw Police Station, Garriki, who were accused of extorting money from a traveller.
The incident came to light after the victim’s brother, using the handle #Mr_Robmichael1 on X.com, raised an alarm on Saturday. He claimed that his brother, a passenger on an inter-state commercial bus, was stopped by the officers.
The brother was then allegedly abducted and taken to an undisclosed village, where he was forced to pay N1 million. The victim also reported that a POS machine was used to charge an additional N50,000 as a transaction fee.
In a follow-up post, #Mr_Robmichael1 revealed that the officers had been identified and that the matter had been reported to the state Police Public Relations Officer, Dan Ndukwe, as well as to the Divisional Police Officer.
The stolen money was eventually recovered after a visit to the police station.
“Police officers identified. We are (at) the police station, MTD Police Station, Garriki, Enugu, waiting for the refund. Thanks to #DanNdukwe and DPO of MTD police station.
“Thanks to DPO Awkunanaw Police Station, Mr. Chukwuegu Longinus, immediately I reported the case to him, he drove straight to the checkpoint and after identifying the officers involved, he mandated them to refund. Omoh, it’s a mess here in Nigeria. 1 million naira recovered from Nigerian Police officers attached to Awkunanaw Police station, MTD, Garriki, Enugu.”
Reacting to the incident, Ndukwe described the extortion as unacceptable, stressing that the officers would be made to face the music.
“This is totally unacceptable and as I had informed @Mr_Robmichael1 via phone after the recovery, refunding the money isn’t enough. The police officers involved will have to dance to the music they tuned on. We don’t have a place for this in the NPF,” Ndukwe wrote on the X platform.
