The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command has arrested four police officers accused of extorting N53,000 from the Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Dr Musa Aliyu (SAN), during an unauthorised stop-and-search operation in Abuja.
The FCT Commissioner of Police, Ahmed Sanusi, disclosed this on Monday while addressing journalists in Abuja. He said the officers, who were attached to different divisions, abandoned their assigned duty posts and formed a group that mounted an illegal checkpoint around the Banex area in Wuse, where they allegedly targeted motorists for extortion.
According to Sanusi, the officers stopped the ICPC chairman without recognising him and compelled him to withdraw N53,000 through a Point of Sale operator. He added that the officers allegedly collected the money, including the transaction charges, and later shared the proceeds among themselves.
The police commissioner described the officers as criminals who had no place in the force, noting that investigations led to the arrest of the group’s leader, whose confession helped investigators apprehend the remaining members of the syndicate.
Sanusi said the command is determined to ensure that the officers face appropriate disciplinary measures, including possible dismissal from service. He stressed that the police would not tolerate misconduct, extortion or abuse of authority by its personnel.
He also reiterated the directive of the Inspector General of Police banning the indiscriminate search of citizens’ mobile phones by officers on patrol. The commissioner urged residents to resist unlawful demands for phone searches and report any case of extortion or misconduct through the police emergency lines, assuring that offenders would be identified and sanctioned.
