Police Officers Allegedly Abduct NYSC Member, Demand $1,000 as Girlfriend Escapes Moving Car in Lagos

Femi Ashekun/

The Lagos State Police Command has queried two officers and defaulted one after a serving National Youth Service Corps member, Charles Mbaogu, reported that police officers abducted him, drove him around Lagos for hours and demanded 1,000 US dollars.

He said he was only taken to a station after his girlfriend escaped from a moving vehicle and cried for help.

Confirming the development, the Police Public Relations Officer, SP Abimbola Adebisi, said the officers had been identified and brought before the State Command Headquarters.

“The officers involved have been identified and brought to the State Command Headquarters today,” she said. “@devcharlezen also reported to the Command and provided the necessary details that aided the review process.”

“Two of the officers have been formally queried,but while one has been defaulted, in line with established disciplinary procedures. We sincerely appreciate your courage in coming forward and speaking truthfully about your experience,” she further stated.

Mbaogu said the incident occurred at about 10am on Saturday, February 28 when he and his girlfriend were travelling from Ikeja to Epe and were stopped by officers attached to Ladegboye Police Station along Ijede Road, Ikorodu.

According to him, after confirming his vehicle documents were complete, the officers began questioning him about his tribe, state of origin and activities in Lagos.

He said he informed them he was a serving corps member and presented his NYSC identity card, and was instructed to log into his NYSC portal to verify his status.

Despite complying, he alleged that an officer seized his phone and searched through his private chats. After seeing a conversation with a colleague, he said he was labelled a “Yahoo boy” and accused of internet fraud.

He said he was ordered into a police vehicle and told he would prove his innocence at the station. Instead, he alleged that officers drove him around for nearly three hours to different locations.

“Each time they stopped, the main officer pressured me to admit I was involved in fraud and said if I cooperated, he would know how to let me go,” Mbaogu said.

He further claimed that an officer said he had seen funds in his cryptocurrency account and demanded that he transfer 1,000 US dollars. He said he refused.

During this period, his girlfriend was allegedly being driven separately in his own car by another officer, and her phone was taken from her when she attempted to reach him.

Mbaogu said he repeatedly asked to be taken to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission if they believed he had committed any crime, but the officers declined and continued driving.

According to him, the situation changed when the officer driving his car reportedly sped ahead to inform the others that his girlfriend had jumped out of the moving vehicle and was shouting for help.

“Only then did they turn around and take me back to the main station near where I was initially stopped,” he said.

At the station, he said officers contacted his colleague and the chief executive of an application he was developing after accusing him of hacking his colleague’s ATM card. He said his colleague clarified that he had voluntarily shared his card details for debugging purposes.

Mbaogu added that after hours of interrogation and searches that yielded nothing incriminating, he was released.

He declined to write a statement indicating that the matter had been settled.

While the Lagos State Police Command has initiated disciplinary proceedings against the officers involved, it has not publicly addressed the specific allegations of a demand for money or the decision to drive the couple around before returning to the station following the girlfriend’s escape.