The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command has detained four police officers accused of illegally extorting ₦53,000 from the Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Dr Musa Aliyu (SAN), during an unauthorised stop and search operation in Abuja.
According to a report by The Punch, the FCT Commissioner of Police, Ahmed Sanusi, disclosed that the incident occurred around the Banex area in Wuse, where the officers allegedly abandoned their official duty posts, mounted an illegal checkpoint and extorted money from the ICPC chairman without knowing his identity.
Sanusi said the officers forced Aliyu to withdraw ₦53,000 through a Point of Sale (POS) operator and also made him pay the transaction charges before sharing the money among themselves.
The commissioner described the officers as criminals who had no business wearing the police uniform, stating that investigations revealed they had formed an extortion gang after leaving their various divisions to operate the illegal checkpoint.
He explained that the command declared the officers wanted before arresting their gang leader, whose confession led to the arrest of the remaining members of the syndicate. He assured that all those found culpable would face severe disciplinary measures, including dismissal from the Nigeria Police Force where applicable.
Sanusi also reiterated the directive of the Inspector General of Police prohibiting officers from conducting indiscriminate searches of citizens’ mobile phones during patrols or stop and search operations.
He urged residents to reject unlawful requests by police officers to inspect their phones and immediately report such incidents through the police emergency lines, stressing that officers have no authority to stop people on the road for random phone searches.
The police commissioner further encouraged members of the public to report cases of extortion, harassment and other forms of misconduct by security personnel, assuring that the command remains committed to identifying and punishing officers who abuse their authority.
Leave a comment