Four police officers attached to the Federal Capital Territory Police Command have been arrested for allegedly extorting the Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, Dr Musa Aliyu (SAN), of ₦53,000 at an illegal checkpoint in Abuja.
The officers, who reportedly did not know the identity of the anti-graft agency chairman, allegedly forced him to withdraw the money from a nearby Point of Sale operator before collecting and sharing the proceeds among themselves.
The FCT Commissioner of Police, Ahmed Sanusi, disclosed the incident on Monday while briefing journalists in Abuja, describing the suspects as “criminals” who had no place in the Nigeria Police Force.
According to Sanusi, investigations revealed that the officers abandoned their officially assigned duty posts and mounted an unauthorised checkpoint around the Banex area of Wuse, where they allegedly extorted motorists and other road users.
He said Aliyu became one of their victims after the officers intercepted him and demanded money.
“They extorted the Chairman of the ICPC of ₦53,000. They took him to a POS, where he withdrew the money, paid the transaction charges and they shared the money among themselves,” the commissioner said.
Sanusi explained that the command launched an investigation after receiving complaints about the activities of the officers, leading to the declaration of the suspects as wanted.
He said detectives first arrested the alleged leader of the group, whose confession led to the arrest of the remaining three officers.
“We got all of them. We are going to make sure they are severely punished. Those that are going to be dismissed will definitely be dismissed,” he added.
The police commissioner vowed that the command would not shield any officer found culpable of misconduct, stressing that efforts were ongoing to rid the force of personnel involved in extortion, illegal checkpoints and other criminal activities.
He also reiterated that police officers have no legal authority to stop members of the public on the road and demand access to their mobile phones.
“You cannot stop anybody on the road and ask the person to bring out his phone for search. If any policeman stops you and asks to search your phone, don’t agree. Call the police emergency lines and we will ask them why,” Sanusi said.
He assured residents of the Federal Capital Territory that the command remained committed to restoring public confidence in the police by ensuring that officers found guilty of extortion, abuse of office and other forms of misconduct face disciplinary action.
FOLLOW US
FOR MORE HERE
