An entrepreneur, Sam Ochonma has accused the police of extorting the sum of N2.8 million from him in Lagos on Wednesday.
The branding expert said he was returning from the gym when he was stopped by a group of policemen who told him they were conducting stop and search.
He said he showed them his papers and the inside of his car, but they accused him of being a ritualist and demanded N10 million from him.
He wrote on Instagram:
“Yesterday, on my way back from the gym around 9:30 PM, my life flashed before my eyes. A Sienna suddenly parked in front of me, and men wearing police jackets with guns approached me. They said it was a stop and search operation and ordered me to open my trunk. I complied and showed them my car documents, Then, they demanded my phone for a search. Suddenly, they accused me of being a cultist, shouting, “We’ve caught a cultist!” Everything happened so quickly. One of them got into my car, and the other handcuffed me, threatening to shoot if I didn’t get into their vehicle, insisting I was a cultist.
They started driving my car while I was in their van. I had no idea where they were taking my car until I managed to look outside the dark van and saw we were on the 3rd Mainland Bridge, with guns pointed at me.
To make a long story short, they took me to Agege and demanded a ransom of 10 million Naira, threatening to kill me if I didn’t pay. We went through over 20 POS terminals, and eventually, ~2.8 million Naira was transferred after hours of plea, because they couldn’t get all the cash that night. I was released around 3:45 AM.
Nigeria is very unsafe!
