The policemen involved in the extortion of a student in Ogun State have been detained at the state police command after PUNCH Metro’s report.
The student, Olawale Ayomide, accused the officers attached to the Igbeba Police Station in the Ijebu Ode area of the state of extorting N99,000 from him.
The victim, who narrated his ordeal to our correspondent last Thursday, said the incident occurred on Tuesday, October 7, adding that one of the officers forgot his official cap in his vehicle after allegedly perpetrating the act.
According to Olawale, the policemen stopped him while he was travelling in his mother’s vehicle from Sagamu to Ijebu-Ode and accused him of driving a car without a number plate.
He said that despite explaining that the car belonged to his mother, who was still processing the registration documents, the officers ignored him and insisted he follow them to their station and thereafter extorted him.
A police source, however, told our correspondent on Tuesday, on the condition of anonymity as he was not permitted to speak on the matter, that the officers were summoned to the state command following the news report.
“The Commissioner of Police saw the report on PUNCH on Friday and summoned the Igbeba DPO and the officers to Eleweeran.
The CP reprimanded them and ordered the officers to be detained,” the source disclosed.
It was also gathered that Ayomide had since been contacted by the DPO to have his money refunded.
Ayomide, who confirmed this to our correspondent on Tuesday, said the DPO asked him to come to the command headquarters for the refund.
“The DPO called me on Saturday and told me to come to the command headquarters on Tuesday. I was there this morning, and when I called them, they said their vehicle had broken down and that they couldn’t make it down here. So they asked me to come to their office tomorrow (Wednesday) to collect the money. Although I may have to dispatch their cap to them after sending the money to me because I had already spent a lot coming to Abeokuta today,” he said.
Olawale’s mother, Mrs Omolabake, confirmed her ownership of the car when contacted last Thursday.
She also expressed her displeasure over the development, saying she personally found the cap in the vehicle.
She said, “I saw the cap in the vehicle and asked my son where he saw it. Initially, he did not want to tell me what happened until after persuaded him. This is not good at all. My name is on the document for the car. We are only processing the plate number. I felt bad when I was told they were recorded and asked to lie against themselves.
“I knew what they did was not good, and that was how it ended this way. My husband is not around now, and I am waiting for him to return before going to the station. They have to refund the money and delete the video they recorded.”
The Lagos State coordinator of the Take It Back Movement, Taofeek Adekunle, also confirmed the development in a post on X on Monday.
While noting that he had established communication with the DPO, he said, “Upon confirming with the DPO, he admitted reaching out to the victim and disclosed that he will be appearing before the Ogun State Commissioner of Police tomorrow to narrate how the extortion happened.
“To ensure transparency and protect the victim from intimidation, I have contacted the Ogun State TIB Coordinator, Comrade Festus Afofun, alongside another comrade, to accompany the victim to the Commissioner’s office. This is another testament to the power of public accountability and organised citizen action against police corruption,” he added.
The command spokesperson, Omolola Odutola, did not respond to calls made to her telephone line. A text message sent afterwards had yet to be replied to as of the time this report was filed.
The development comes amid police prompt action against officers found culpable of extorting members of the public.
