Four police officers arrested for ‘extorting N53,000 from ICPC chairman’

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) police command has
arrested four police officers for allegedly extorting N53,000 from Musa Aliyu,
chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences
Commission (ICPC), during an illegal stop-and-search operation in Abuja.

 

Ahmed Sanusi, FCT commissioner of police, shared this while
briefing journalists in Abuja on Monday.

He said the officers abandoned their assigned duty posts,
mounted an unauthorised checkpoint around the Banex area in Wuse, and extorted
the ICPC chairman.

He said Aliyu was compelled to withdraw N53,000 through a
Point of Sale (PoS) operator, paid the transaction charges, with the officers
later sharing the money among themselves.

“I must say here too 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 a highly placed person in society,” Sanusi
said.

“In clear terms, they extorted the chairman of the ICPC.
They extorted him of N53,000.

“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 commissioner said the command declared the
officers wanted before arresting the alleged gang leader, whose confession led
investigators to the other members of the syndicate.

“We got all of them. We are going to make sure they are
severely punished,” he said.

“Those that are going to be dismissed will definitely be
dismissed.”

Sanusi also said Tunji Disu, inspector-general of police
(IGP), has prohibited indiscriminate search of citizens’ mobile phones by
officers on patrol.

He urged residents to reject any demand by officers to go
through their phones during commute, and to report such incidents through the
police emergency lines.

“We will still enforce the IG’s directive. Some of them are
on the task because they are criminally minded. They want to perpetrate such
acts,” he said.

“If we get them, they will face disciplinary actions and
will be made to face the consequences.”

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