The Anambra State Police Command has detained six personnel of the Okpoko Police Division, Onitsha, for allegedly extorting a victim of ₦200,000 using a PoS operator.
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The arrest followed a widely circulated video of the incident where the wife of the victim narrated how her husband, a drink seller, was allegedly harassed, handcuffed and extorted after being stopped by some policemen while returning from Relief Market, Onitsha, where he went to buy drinks with his bus.
Our correspondent gathered that the incident occurred around the ever-busy Upper Iweka axis of the Onitsha-Awka-Enugu Expressway, over the weekend.
In the video, the wife of the victim said her husband was intercepted under the Upper Iweka flyover in Onitsha by the police officers, who demanded the particulars of his vehicle, which she said he presented and were found to be complete and valid.
She said despite having valid particulars of the vehicle, the police personnel allegedly arrested her husband, seized his particulars and ordered him to transfer ₦500,000, but he pleaded and eventually he transferred ₦200,000 into a yet-to-disclosed account through the PoS operator to avoid being detained.
They allegedly used a PoS operator in the Okpoko area near Onitsha, the commercial centre of the state, to receive the money.
A voice-over in the video said the police personnel took the victim to the PoS operator, where the money was transferred, stating that the police personnel always forced other victims in the area to pay such an amount daily to avoid further consequences.
Reacting to the development, the Command acknowledged the viral content via a press statement, adding that the video has been intercepted and is being investigated.
In the statement released on Monday, the Spokesman for the Command, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, confirmed that the state Commissioner of Police, Ikioye Orutugu, has ordered the detention of the six officers allegedly involved in the incident pending the outcome of ongoing investigations.
Ikenga disclosed that the officers include two Assistant Superintendents of Police and four Inspectors of Police.
He said the money allegedly collected from the victim has been returned, showing serious indictment and unprofessional conduct of the officers.
The statement read in part, “The Commissioner of Police, Anambra State Command, CP Ikioye Orutugu, has ordered the detention of the six officers allegedly involved in the incident pending the outcome of ongoing investigations.
“The officers include two Assistant Superintendents of Police and four Inspectors of Police. Meanwhile, senior officers connected to the incident have been queried, while statements from the other ranks involved have been taken under caution in line with established Police investigative procedures.
“The Command has also initiated steps to arrest the alleged POS operator in Onitsha, whose involvement suggests possible conspiracy in the incident.
“Furthermore, through the Divisional Police Officer, Okpoko, the Command invites and awaits the victim involved in the complaint to come forward to provide additional testimony to aid the investigation and guide further disciplinary action.”
He assured the public that the Anambra State Police Command is treating the matter with the seriousness it deserves, adding that further developments will be communicated.
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