In the Ojota neighborhood of Lagos State, four police officers assigned to the Ogudu Police Division have kidnapped Emmanuel Nnawuihe, a student at Cyprus University, and demanded N153,000 from him.
According to reports, Nnawuihe was traveling within the state when he was flagged down for a search in the Ojota under-bridge area by police officers who were on operational duty.
After complying with the policemen’s request, it was discovered that neither the vehicle nor the phone owned by Nnawuihe had any evidence of criminal activity.
The cops allegedly escorted the student to a lonely area near the underpass where they made him open his mobile banking app rather than letting him continue on his route.
A source who spoke with newsmen claimed that the four cops allegedly threatened to injure Nnawuihe unless he consented to transfer the money into an account owned by someone who was not there after discovering that he had about N2 million in his bank account.
According to the source, the student declined because he had done nothing illegal and the money did not belong to him, but the policeman continued to intimidate him.
The source claimed that the undergraduate started negotiating with the policeman after realizing that they were in danger of losing their lives. The source added that the officers eventually agreed to a settlement of N153,000 and gave the account number where the money was paid into.
The occurrence occurred on June 3, 2023, about 3:30 PM, but Nnawuihe transferred the funds at 4:08 PM, according to the source. The police halted his car near Ojota, and when they did not discover anything incriminating about him, they drove him to a location where he was threatened with forfeiting the N2 million they had discovered in his bank account.
“But he disagreed with them, and they threatened to injure him until, after a series of negotiations, he decided to give them N153,000. The account number into which the money was moved was given by the policemen. The policemen released him when he transferred the money.
According to reports, Nnawuihe reported the incident to the Lagos State Police Command and state police commissioner Idowu Owohunwa assigned police officers to find the accused police officers and bring them in for questioning.
Nnawuihe was transferred to the Ogudu Police Division during the inquiry, where he helped identify the officers. The officers were then transported to the police headquarters in Ikeja, where they were arrested and subjected to more questioning.
It was discovered that Nnawuihe also produced the receipt for the N153,000 transfer he made to the account provided by the accused officers in addition to writing an official statement to support his assertions.
The money was moved into an account that belonged to one Edidiong Anthony Ekpo, it was discovered when examining the receipt that one of our journalists had in his possession.
The four cops were undergoing an orderly room trial as of the time this news was filed, and the money had been returned to the undergraduate.
Additionally, it was discovered that the CP had directed the immediate dismissal of CSP Celestina Kalu, the Divisional Police Officer for the Ogudu Division, pending the conclusion of the orderly room trial, for failing to oversee her troops in connection with the extortion against Nnawuihe.
When reached, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, the state police public relations officer, verified the event and said the command had opened an investigation.
The money (N153,000) had been returned to the victim, and Idowu Owohunwa, the commissioner of police for Lagos State Command, had mandated an investigation into the allegations made against the detained police officers. The police officers are being tried in a quiet room. DPO redeployment is common practice.
However, the state has seen a rise in police extortion of inhabitants and drivers.
Owohunwa ordered the immediate dismissal of the DPO of Okokomaiko, SP Emmanuel Edebagha, in a statement by Hundeyin on Saturday, April 16, 2023, for failing to also oversee his men who were suspected of extorting a trader at the Alaba International Market, Onyinyechi Anwusi, of N100,000.
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