Nigeria Police dismiss Inspector, two others for extortion
The Nigeria Police have announced the dismissal of Police Inspector, Kunle Adebayo and two others for extortion.
The three Police served with Kogi State Command and included one inspector, one sergeant, and one corporal.
According to a police bulletin obtained by Salient Times the affected officials were attached to the Kabba Division of the Kogi State Command.
The police said the dismissal was in line with the fight against corruption.
The dismissed officials were named as Kunle Adebayo, an inspector; Adetayo Odebiyi, a sergeant; and Adetunji Bandale, a corporal
The police said the suspects were charged, tried and found guilty in an orderly room conducted at the Area Command Headquarters, Kabba for two offences.
The case against the culprits, according to the bulletin, was that on December 19th, 2022, the Public Complaint Rapid Response Unit (PCRRU) received a complaint via its WhatsApp of one Ogunsakin Taofeek Olanrewaju
“Good morning sir, My name is Ogunsakin Taofeek Olanrewaju, a Student and business man living in Abeokuta, Ogun State.
On 19th December 2022 after the School closed for the Yuletide break, while on my way to get the farm produce in Kabba area of Kogi, in Kogi State. The Vehicle I was traveling with was stopped at a checkpoint very close to Kabba it was about three kilometers to Kabba, the driver was asked to identify himself and provide all the particulars of the vehicle, he obliged them. They also asked us to identify ourselves. The three of us in the vehicle did.
“Rather for us to be allowed to go in peace, a Police of inspectorate rank and with the name tag, Kunle Adebayo insisted that we should not go unless we tipped them money. We thought he was playing, because of the security situation of the area, and in order for us to get to our destination in time, we bargained and arrived at Ten thousand, saying that his boss has given them a target they must meet before they get to the station. We dragged the issue for a long time to the extent that he threatened to shoot us if we failed to obey his demands.
“After waiting for about two hours at the place, I decided to see if he can allow us to go if we should tell him that there was no cash with us, but we can only do transfer. Rather for him to allow us to go, he said he has an account we can send the transfer to, I gave him my phone and he did the transfer of Twenty Thousand Naira to an account with no name showing.
“Sir that’s my story. All this are not good and policeman are meant to protect us but this nowadays police officer have turn this to another thing by using their power to ride civilians, maltreating and harassing civilian. The officers name who headed the squad, which I saw on his uniform is Kunle Adebayo. Please sir you have to stop this kind of officer because they are taking this too far,” the complainant said.
The bulletin added that complaint was immediately registered and investigated.
“The policemen were identified and it was discovered that they apprehended the complainant on 19th December, 2022 without any reasonable cause and extorted the sum of Twenty Thousand Naira (N20,000) ‘Bail Money,” the police said.
“The extorted N20,000 was subsequently recovered from these unethical policemen who were armed on the day of the incident.
“Necessary disciplinary measures were initiated against the erring policemen, they were found guilty as charged in an Orderly Room trial after the presentation of witnesses and exhibits. Punishment of dismissal from service was recommended by the Adjudicating officer and proceedings reviewed by the relevant Nigeria Police Force (NPF) authorities.
“The punishment of dismissal from service has been upheld with immediate effect and all NPF uniforms and accoutrements including warrant cards (ID cards) issued to the men have been retrieved with all dismissal procedures completed,” the bulletin stated.
The police added that the complainant was also handed back his N20,000 with an apology a day after he lodged the complaint. He was quoted as saying, “Great job you people are doing right there, thank you for the prompt response.”
Extortion by police officers is common across Nigeria despite the effort of the police to eradicate the menace.
It was also reported how two police traffic wardens were dismissed in June for extorting N15,000 from a motorist.
