A Nigerian man has accused police operatives in Bayelsa State of extorting N3 million from him at gunpoint.
The victim, Kelechi Isaac, disclosed this on Friday while speaking to reporters in Owerri, Imo State capital.
A video clip showing him narrating the incident was also uploaded on Facebook.
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Mr Isaac hails from Nguru Nworie, a community in Aboh Mbaise Local Government Area of Imo state, Nigeria’s South-east.
The victim is based in Ghana, a West African country. According to him, he returned to Nigeria to attend a friend’s traditional marriage ceremony in Bayelsa State when the incident happened.
In the video clip, he told reporters that the incident happened Monday at Odi Axis in the south-southern state.
How it happened
Mr Isaac said he was driving back from the marriage ceremony with two of his friends when five police operatives flagged down their vehicle.
He said the operatives identified themselves as the “IGP’s Special Squad” and that their white pickup truck was not branded.
The operatives’ uniform did not have name tags, he said.
The victim said the operatives searched their vehicle and subsequently forced him to unlock his phone.
He said the armed operatives, on seeing a N10 million bank alert in his phone, allegedly began to beat him and threatened to shoot him unless he transferred N6 million to them.
“They handcuffed me and drove us away and continued beating me. Before we knew it, they started shooting guns and threatened to kill the three of us. I asked them to take me to a police station but they refused.
“They said that if I didn’t give them N6 million from the N10 million, they would kill all of us. When the beating became too much, I started negotiating with them, and at the end of the day, I transferred N3 million to them in two bank accounts they provided and drove with us and stopped us at Ahoada in Rivers State and drove off,” he narrated in the clip.
‘I want my money returned’
Mr Isaac said the operatives gave him two different bank accounts where he transferred N2 million and N1 millon separately.
He said the N2 million was transferred to the Monie Point Microfinance Bank account number belonging to Yusuf Mustafa, while the N1 million was transferred to another Monie Point Microfinance Bank account number belonging to Jerry Ventures.
He appealed to the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun (IGP), to intervene and compel the operatives to return the money.
“All I need is my money to be returned to me and for the IGP to fish out the policemen giving the Nigeria Police Force a bad image. I believe with these account details, they can be fished out.
“I want Justice. I want my money returned because it is for my brother’s project. Let the policemen who did this to me be identified so that other Nigerians won’t become their victims,” Mr Isaac stated.
“I don’t do any illicit business. I am a law-abiding citizen of this country.”
The victim said his lawyer wrote to the police in Bayelsa State to notify them of the incident.
Police speak
When contacted by PREMIUM TIMES on Friday, the police spokesperson, Musa Mohammed, said he was unaware of the incident.
Mr Mohammed, a superintendent of police, said there was no squad known as “IGP Special Squad” in Bayelsa State.
He said the victim phoned him on Friday evening and informed him that his lawyer would submit an official complaint on 2 September.
“But for now, no formal complaint on the issue is on my table or before the state commissioner of police,” the spokesperson said.
He said those who allegedly extorted the victim might not have been personnel of the Police Command in Bayelsa.
“They might be from elsewhere,” Mr Mohammed said.
Not the first time
Cases of police extortion in Nigeria have continued despite punishment by police authorities, such as dismissal from service.
The latest extortion allegations two months after police operatives in Anambra State allegedly extorted N810,000 from a resident of the state.
The incident happened in late June.
Following pressure from various quarters, the operatives returned the money to the victim some hours later.
Earlier in June, an operative was dismissed in Abia State for allegedly shooting dead an entrepreneur over his refusal to bribe him.
In March, another operative was dismissed while two others were suspended for allegedly extorting $3,000 from two Nigerians in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
A Divisional Crimes Officer of Abraka Division in Delta State was also removed from office for allegedly extorting over N2 million.
This newspaper reported the detention of some operatives at the police headquarters in Abuja for allegedly extorting N30.3 million.
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