The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command has detained four police officers accused of extorting ₦53,000 from the Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Dr. Musa Aliyu (SAN), during an illegal stop-and-search operation in Abuja.
The FCT Commissioner of Police, Ahmed Sanusi, disclosed the development on Monday while briefing journalists in Abuja, describing the officers as criminals who had no business wearing the police uniform.
According to the police commissioner, the officers abandoned their official duty posts, formed an illegal team and mounted an unauthorised checkpoint around the Banex area of Wuse, where they extorted the ICPC chairman without recognising 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.
“I must say here too that we have about four policemen in custody as we speak who successfully extorted somebody of high importance, unknown to them that this person is a highly placed person in society. In clear terms, they extorted the Chairman of the ICPC.
“They extorted him of ₦53,000. They took him to a POS, he withdrew the money, paid the charges and they shared the money among themselves,” he said.
The commissioner explained that investigations showed the officers had unlawfully left their assigned duty posts before creating the illegal checkpoint to target motorists.
“They are a gang of criminals who left various divisions, clustered together, moved to Wuse Banex and created a checkpoint where they perpetrated this act before fleeing,” he said.
Sanusi disclosed that the command declared the officers wanted before tracking down and arresting their alleged gang leader, whose confession led investigators to the remaining members of the syndicate.
“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 also reminded officers and members of the public that the Inspector-General of Police had prohibited indiscriminate searches of citizens’ mobile phones during routine patrols.
He advised residents not to submit their phones for roadside searches by police officers and urged them to immediately report such incidents through the police emergency lines.
“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 encouraged members of the public to promptly report extortion and other forms of police misconduct, assuring that erring officers would be identified, disciplined and prosecuted where necessary.
“We will still enforce the IG’s directive. Some of them are on the task because they are criminally minded. They want to perpetrate such acts. If we get them, they will face disciplinary actions and will be made to face the consequences,” Sanusi added.
