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By Victor Osula, Abuja
Four officers of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command were nabbed at a checkpoint where they extorted money from a victim who turned out to be the Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Crimes Commission (ICPC), Dr Musa Aliyu, a Senior Lawyer of Nigeria, SAN.
According to the FCT Police Command, the officers allegedly stopped the anti-corruption chief along Wuse’s Banex axis, forced him to withdraw ₦53,000 through a Point of Sale (POS) terminal, and collected additional transaction fees before sharing the money between them.
Announcing the development on Monday, FCT Police Commissioner Ahmed Sanusi said all four officers were arrested, detained and subjected to disciplinary procedures, adding that the command will ensure that they will be punished in line with police regulations if found guilty.
“This is outright criminality. Such conduct has no place in the Nigeria Police Force,” Sanusi told reporters at a news conference in Abuja.
Providing information on the incident, Sanusi said preliminary investigations showed that the officers had abandoned their officially assigned duty posts before converging around the Banex area in Wuse, where they allegedly set up an unauthorized checkpoint.
According to him, the officers used the illegal checkpoint to stop and allegedly extort motorists before intercepting Dr Aliyu, apparently unaware that he was the head of one of Nigeria’s main anti-corruption agencies.
The commissioner alleged that the ICPC president would be forced to withdraw ₦53,000 through a POS operator and would also have to pay the related withdrawal fees.
Investigators believe the officers later shared the money between themselves.
Sanusi revealed that the command moved quickly after receiving details of the incident.
He said the officers were immediately declared wanted, while investigators stepped up efforts to identify and arrest all those involved.
According to him, investigators first arrested the alleged leader of the group, whose interrogation led to the arrest of the remaining three officers.
“The investigations are progressing well and any officer found guilty will face the consequences of their actions,” the commissioner said.
He added that disciplinary proceedings could culminate in dismissal from the service, depending on the outcome of the investigation.
Beyond the specific case, Sanusi said the command will intensify surveillance of patrol officers to eliminate illegal checkpoints and other forms of misconduct that have continued to erode public trust in the police.
He reiterated that extortion, intimidation and abuse of members of the public remain serious offenses under police regulations and would attract severe penalties.
The commissioner stressed that officers who abandon their assigned duty stations or engage in unauthorized operations will equally be held accountable.
Sanusi also reiterated the Inspector General of Police’s directive prohibiting indiscriminate searches of citizens’ mobile phones during patrols.
He advised Nigerians not to give up their phones for illegal street searches or succumb to extortion demands from officers operating outside established procedures.
It instead urged victims and witnesses to promptly report such incidents through police hotlines and other official reporting channels to enable immediate action.
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