Police arrests 4 Officers following concerns raised over extortion of travellers in Kogi

Four Police Officers have been arrested for allegedly extorting travellers in Okene. The Police Officers were in a viral video extorting innocent Nigerians. The Video of the extortion had gone viral on Social Media which necessitated the immediate action of the Police Authority.

Earlier hundreds of Nigerians who commented on the trading video of Police Officers forcibly collecting money from passengers on a highway in Kogi state north central Nigeria have expressed displeasure for such acts.

Nigerians have taken to their social media handles to condemn the action of the officers and call on the Inspector General of Police to take action and bring his boys to order before they push Nigerians into reacting to such behaviours.

In the video, which was transmitted to the media, the Police Officers who were on duty at Highway stopped passenger vehicles plying the route and forced passengers to give them money in a most despicable manner?

According to passengers they force people to transfer money to them and even force a passenger to go to POS and make a withdrawal of about 25,000 naira for them.

“It was like a film for an Officer of the Nigeria Police Force to go to that length where they remove their uniforms to escort passengers to POS to forcibly make withdrawal for them.” Mathew Idoko, a Nigerian Business man reacted from his Facebook account.

Another Nigerians who follows the story said, ” It is a pity how Nigerians are being treated by Officers who should be the ones protecting the life and property of the people. Now that they can follow us to the bank at gunpoint, we are finished in this country.”

However, the Nigerian Police Force on Saturday reacted to the criminal activities involving some of its men in Kogi state.

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In a statement Ref No. CZ.5300/FPRD/FHQ/ABJ/VOL.4/49 and signed by the force public relations officer, CP Frank Mba said, the Inspector General of Police, IGP Usman Alkali Baba has ordered the Commissioner of Police, Kogi State Command to immediately carry out discrete investigations into the incident depicted in the trending video from  a location believed to be in Kogi State. 

The IGP calls for calm, noting that at the end of the investigations, justice will be done to the victim of the incident and personnel found guilty, brought to book.

Speaking on the arrest, the Commissioner of Police, Idris Dauda in a statement through the Police Public Relations Officer, William Aya on Sunday said the Command has commenced investigations into the trending video.

The Statement reads in part, “The Command has commenced investigations into a trending video where Police personnel attached to Adogo Division, while on patrol duty along Adogo-Okene road, reportedly extorted the sum of Twenty-Five Thousand Naira (N25,000) from a traveller while another was physically assaulted by one of the men in uniform.”

The Commissioner while condemning the incident noted that the Police officers have been identified and detained at the State Criminal Investigations Department.

“The officers are: ASP Isah Barnabas, Inspector Ifediegwu Godwin, Sgt Emmanuel Ochima and CPL Umameh Mathias who physically assaulted one of the travellers. The Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) has been issued an official query while the three (3) other junior officers are currently undergoing an orderly room trial (Police internal disciplinary actions).”

The CP further noted that the Command is doing its best to establish contact with the victims. He enjoined the victims to reach out to the Command through 08107899269.

He assured that any of the officers found wanting in the investigations would be dealt with accordingly.

Police arrests 4 Officers following concerns raised over extortion of travellers in Kogi