Adebayo Adenrele
Four policemen have landed in trouble after they allegedly set up an illegal checkpoint in Abuja and extorted N53,000 from the Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Musa Aliyu (SAN).
The Commissioner of Police (CP) for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Ahmed Sanusi, disclosed the incident while parading suspects at the FCT Police Command headquarters.
Sanusi said the four officers abandoned their official duty posts and gathered at an unauthorised checkpoint around the Wuse-Banex area, where they extorted money from unsuspecting motorists.
According to him, the officers did not know that one of the motorists they stopped was the ICPC chairman.
He explained that the policemen forced Aliyu to look for money before taking him to a Point of Sale (POS) operator, where N53,000, including transaction charges, was withdrawn and shared among them.
Sanusi condemned the officers’ actions, warning that the command would no longer tolerate personnel who abuse the powers entrusted to them.
The CP urged residents to reject illegal demands from police officers and report such incidents immediately through the command’s emergency lines.
He said, “They extorted the Chairman of the ICPC of N53,000. He calmly cooperated with them, arranged for someone to transfer the money, and they took him to a POS terminal where the cash was withdrawn and shared among themselves.
“We declared them wanted, arrested their leader, and during interrogation he confessed and identified the others. We tracked down and arrested the remaining members of the gang.
“You have to choose to be one: either a policeman or a thief. You cannot be both at the same time. If you fail to choose, your actions will determine where you belong.
“A phone can only be searched as part of lawful investigation after a suspect has been arrested for a specific offence and brought to the police station. No officer should search phones on the road”.
