Four police officers attached to the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command have been arrested after allegedly extorting ₦53,000 from the Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Dr. Musa Aliyu (SAN), at an illegal checkpoint in Abuja.
In a startling twist, the officers reportedly did not realise that the motorist they targeted was Nigeria’s anti-corruption chief. They allegedly forced him to withdraw the money from a nearby Point of Sale (POS) operator before collecting the cash, deducting transaction charges and sharing the proceeds among themselves.
The incident was disclosed on Monday by the Commissioner of Police for the FCT, Ahmed Sanusi, during a media briefing in Abuja.
Sanusi described the suspects as “criminals” who had no place in the Nigeria Police Force, revealing that they abandoned their officially assigned duty posts to establish an unauthorised stop-and-search checkpoint around the Banex axis in Wuse, where they allegedly preyed on motorists and extorted money from unsuspecting members of the public.
According to the police commissioner, Dr. Aliyu became one of the 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, he withdrew the money, paid the charges and they shared the money among themselves,” Sanusi said.
Investigations, he disclosed, uncovered what appeared to be an organised extortion syndicate involving the officers, who allegedly deserted their legitimate duty posts to operate the illegal checkpoint and target road users for financial gain.
Following complaints received by the command, the officers were declared wanted. Detectives later arrested the alleged leader of the group, whose confession reportedly led investigators to the three other officers involved in the operation.
“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,” the commissioner stated.
Sanusi assured residents that the FCT Police Command would not shield any officer found culpable of misconduct, stressing that the command was determined to rid the force of corrupt personnel involved in extortion, abuse of office and the operation of illegal checkpoints.
The commissioner also reiterated that police officers have no legal authority to stop citizens during routine patrols and demand access to their mobile phones.
He reminded members of the public that the Inspector-General of Police has expressly prohibited the search of citizens’ phones at checkpoints.
“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 reaffirmed the command’s commitment to restoring public confidence in policing by ensuring that officers found guilty of extortion, abuse of office and other forms of misconduct are investigated and subjected to appropriate disciplinary action.