The Enugu State Police Command has vowed to prosecute officers attached to the Awkunanaw Police Station, Garriki, who allegedly extorted N1 million from a traveler.
The incident came to light on Saturday when the victim’s brother, using the handle @Mr_Robmichael1, raised the alarm on social media platform X (formerly Twitter).
He claimed that his brother, a passenger in an inter-state commercial bus, was stopped by the officers, abducted, and taken to an undisclosed location where the sum was extorted.
“Nigerian police officers in Enugu kidnapped my younger brother, took him to an unknown village, and took N1m from him, just now. POS collected 50k as POS charge,” the post read.
Providing updates, @Mr_Robmichael1 disclosed that the officers were identified following the intervention of the Enugu State Police Public Relations Officer, Dan Ndukwe, and the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Awkunanaw Police Station, Mr. Chukwuegu Longinus.
The DPO reportedly drove to the checkpoint, identified the officers involved, and ensured the recovery and refund of the extorted sum.
“1 million naira recovered from Nigerian Police officers attached to Awkunanaw Police Station, MTD, Garriki, Enugu,” @Mr_Robmichael1 confirmed.
Reacting to the incident, Ndukwe condemned the officers’ actions, describing the extortion as “totally unacceptable” and assuring the public of disciplinary action.
“This is totally unacceptable and as I informed @Mr_Robmichael1 via phone after the recovery, refunding the money isn’t enough. The police officers involved will have to dance to the music they tuned on. We don’t have a place for this in the NPF,” Ndukwe stated on X.
The Enugu State Police Command reiterated its commitment to upholding professionalism and rooting out misconduct among its personnel.
The officers involved are expected to face prosecution to serve as a deterrent to others.
