Pat Stevens/
The arrest of four police officers for allegedly extorting the Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Dr Musa Aliyu (SAN), has offered a rare public illustration of persistent allegations of police extortion and abuse of power, with the incident exposing how even one of Nigeria’s most senior anti-corruption officials allegedly fell victim to the practice.
The officers, attached to the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command, allegedly forced Aliyu to withdraw N53,000 from a Point of Sale (POS) operator during an illegal stop-and-search operation in Abuja before sharing the money among themselves.
Announcing their arrest on Monday, the FCT Commissioner of Police, Ahmed Sanusi, described the suspects as “thieves” and “a gang of criminals” who had abandoned their official duty posts to mount an unauthorised checkpoint around the Banex area of Wuse.
“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. In clear terms, they extorted the Chairman of the ICPC,” Sanusi said.
“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.”
The commissioner said investigations showed the officers deserted their various divisions before converging at Banex, where they allegedly extorted motorists until they fled the area.
“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.
Sanusi said the officers were declared wanted before investigators arrested the alleged gang leader, whose confession led to the arrest of the remaining suspects.
“We got all of them. We are going to make sure they are severely punished. Those who are to be dismissed will definitely be dismissed,” he added.
The case is regarded as particularly significant because the alleged victim heads Nigeria’s foremost anti-corruption agency, presenting an unusual public example of a practice that many Nigerians have long complained about at police checkpoints.
While Sanusi described the suspects as criminal elements whose conduct did not reflect the Force, the incident is likely to intensify scrutiny of recurring complaints of extortion by police officers despite repeated directives prohibiting such practices.
The commissioner reiterated that the Inspector-General of Police had banned indiscriminate searches of citizens’ mobile phones.
“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 urged residents to report extortion and other forms of police misconduct, assuring the public that erring officers would be identified and sanctioned.
“We will continue to enforce the IGP’s directive. Some of them engage in these acts because they are criminally minded and want to perpetrate such crimes. If we get them, they will face disciplinary action and be made to face the consequences,” he said.
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