Four police officers have been arrested by the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command for allegedly extorting ₦53,000 from the Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Dr. Musa Aliyu (SAN), during an illegal stop-and-search operation in Abuja.
The FCT Commissioner of Police, Ahmed Sanusi, disclosed the development on Monday while briefing journalists in Abuja, describing the officers as “criminals” who had no business wearing the police uniform.
According to Sanusi, the officers abandoned their assigned duty posts, converged around the Banex area of Wuse, and mounted an unauthorized checkpoint where they allegedly extorted motorists.
Unaware of the identity of their victim, the officers reportedly compelled the ICPC chairman to withdraw ₦53,000 through a Point of Sale (PoS) operator. Aliyu was also said to have paid the transaction charges before the officers shared the money among themselves.
“They extorted him of ₦53,000. They took him to a POS, he withdrew the money, paid the charges and they shared the money among themselves,” Sanusi said.
The commissioner said investigations showed the officers had formed what he described as a criminal gang after leaving their respective divisions to conduct illegal roadside extortion.
“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,” he said.
According to the police, the suspects were tracked down after the command declared them wanted. The alleged gang leader was arrested first, and his confession reportedly led investigators to the remaining members of the syndicate.
“We got all of them. We are going to make sure they are severely punished. Those that are going to be dismissed will definitely be dismissed,” Sanusi added.
Indiscriminate Search of Mobile Phones Prohibited
The commissioner used the incident to reiterate the directive of the Inspector-General of Police prohibiting indiscriminate searches of citizens’ mobile phones during patrol operations.
He advised residents to reject unlawful requests by police officers to inspect their phones and instead report such incidents immediately through police emergency lines.
“You cannot stop anybody on the road and ask the person to bring out his phone for search. If any policeman stops you and asks to search your phone, don’t agree. Call the police emergency lines and we will ask them why,” he said.
Sanusi also urged members of the public to report cases of extortion, harassment and other forms of misconduct by police personnel, assuring that offending officers would face disciplinary measures and criminal sanctions where necessary.
The incident comes amid continued efforts by the Nigeria Police Force to curb police misconduct and restore public confidence through stricter enforcement of professional standards and accountability measures.
