Four police officers have been detained by the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command for allegedly 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 this on Monday during a press briefing in Abuja, describing the detained officers as “thieves” who had no business wearing the police uniform.
According to the CP, the officers abandoned their respective duty posts, clustered together, and mounted an unauthorised checkpoint around the Banex area of Wuse. They extorted the anti-graft boss without realising his identity.
The ICPC chairman was reportedly forced to withdraw ₦53,000 through a Point of Sale (POS) operator, and was even made to pay the transaction charges before the officers shared the cash among themselves.
“I must say here 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 highly placed in society. In clear terms, they extorted the Chairman of the ICPC,” Sanusi said.
“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. 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.”
The police command initially declared the officers wanted before tracking down the gang leader, whose confession subsequently led to the arrest of the remaining members of the syndicate.
“We got all of them,” CP Sanusi added. “We are going to make sure they are severely punished. Those that are going to be dismissed will definitely be dismissed.”
IGP’s phone search ban reiterated
In light of the incident, the FCT Police Commissioner reiterated that the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) has strictly prohibited the indiscriminate roadside searching of citizens’ mobile phones by patrol teams.
He advised residents to refuse any unlawful demands by personnel to search their phones and to immediately report such encounters through official police emergency lines.
“You cannot stop anybody on the road and ask the person to bring out his phone for a 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 stated.
He urged the public to promptly report cases of extortion and misconduct, assuring that the command will continue to enforce the IGP’s directive and ensure criminally minded officers face disciplinary action.
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