Posted by When asked about police personnel who brandish firearms to extort money from Nigerians, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, the force’s spokesman, highlighted that they are essentially identical to armed criminals.
An influential bitcoin trader on platform X has spoken out against the police after they allegedly broke into his home and arrested him.
The complainant stated that the police had broken into his property without a warrant while dressed in civilian attire and arrested every male occupant on suspicion of online fraud.
He showed us the debit alerts from when they took money out of his account and claimed they got $500,000 from all the males that live on his land.
Yesterday at around 7 o’clock in the evening, the police arrived to my estate and arrested all of the male occupants. Last night, for no good reason, we were all incarcerated. The so-called “Questioning” that was actually a dictation was called. It was put to me, “You Dey do Yahoo.” I didn’t respond because I have no idea what yahoo is or how it operates.
The next step was to put pen to paper, declaring my status as either a cult member or an armed robber. No one would sign a statement without their lawyers present, so we spent the night locked up. Part of the message said, “This morning, almost 500k was extorted from us collectively.
User reacts by tagging the Force PRO with the message “As PRO of Nigeria Police Force do something to this dirty stuff you mate always do everyday.” The police have your back.
Adejobi remarked in response, “I think we need to get certain things clear here. He slept in the cell and demanded to see an attorney the next day. Did you see the attorney? Did you hand over the cash with his attorney present? If the attorney didn’t show up, then you should have called someone. Or maybe you lost access to your phone. There are a few points he has to make clear. What part did your lawyer play, whether the police were on your side or not?
Another X user responded by posting screenshots of a previous comment by the Force PRO in which he spoke out against police extortion.
You’re fast to forget things, and that’s why I like you. The user simply wrote “ire o” in the caption.
Adejobi provided additional context in his reply.
“Yes, this is still valid,” he confirmed. If a police officer or security guard in Nigeria extorts money from an innocent citizen, they might as well be a bandit. No government organization, whether armed or unarmed, has the authority to extort anyone. The IGP has also made it plain that they reject such behavior.
“The IGP has advised police not to use his name to extort or deceive Nigerians, and he has also requested that they not bring him any gifts. A statement to this effect was issued by our organization. Before passing judgment or making accusations, you should read the remarks and make sure you understand them.
My point was made quite clear. Do we have to keep paying these incompetent cops? Will we keep going in this fashion? I was relieved to see from his tweet that he put up some sort of fight, but he certainly could have continued to fight to the very end. He was there with them inside the station.
He was nowhere near a vehicle. No one approved of the extortion, but he still shouldn’t have given in and paid them. I hope that clarifies my claim. Thanks.”