The four police officers allegedly extorted N53,000 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.
By Deborah Hassan
365Daily – The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command has detained four police officers for allegedly extorting N53,000 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, as it warned residents not to allow officers conduct unlawful searches of their mobile phones.
FCT Commissioner of Police, Ahmed Sanusi, disclosed the incident during a media briefing in Abuja, describing the officers as “criminals” who had no business wearing the police uniform.
According to him, the officers abandoned their assigned duty posts, assembled at the Banex area of Wuse, and mounted an unauthorised checkpoint where they extorted unsuspecting motorists, including the ICPC chairman, whose identity they did not know at the time.
Sanusi said the officers compelled Aliyu to withdraw N53,000 through a Point of Sale (POS) operator, pay the transaction charges, and then shared 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 N53,000. They took him to a POS, he withdrew the money, paid the charges and they shared the money among themselves,” the commissioner said.
He explained that investigations showed the officers had deserted their various duty posts and formed a gang to carry out the illegal operation.
“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 said the command declared the officers wanted before arresting the 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 commissioner also reiterated the Inspector-General of Police’s directive prohibiting officers from conducting indiscriminate searches of citizens’ mobile phones during patrols.
He advised residents to reject any unlawful request by police officers to inspect their phones and instead 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 urged members of the public to promptly report cases of extortion and other forms of police misconduct, assuring that offending officers would be identified, disciplined and prosecuted.
“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,” he said.