The Ogun State Police Command has assured that any of its officers caught extorting Nigerians will be punished in line with the Police Act.
DSP Abimbola Oyeyemi, Ogun State Police Public Relations Officer, said this while reacting to an investigation by SaharaReporters that revealed how officers in connivance with senior officers in the force extort Nigerians.
DSP Oyeyemi denied that junior officers are being given weekly target stating that the officers do so on their own ‘extortionist tendencies. He stated that the officers are trying to pin the act on senior officers in the force.
“It is highly illogical for any public office holder to be justifying or giving a reason for his/her corrupt tendencies.
“As it is known with every human being, even an armed robber caught in the act will give reason no matter how untenable to justify his robbery escapade. They are just trying to justify the extortionist tendencies because the force is coming hard on them.”
He expressed that senior officers in the state command are not involved in the act as they at all time, arrest and try officers caught extorting the citizens.
He also debunked the claim that each team were instructed to remit N7,000 as a contribution to the wedding ceremony of the son of the state’s Commissioner of Police, Ahmed Iliyasu.
He added that the CP is known to be against corruption and will in no way support extortion of Nigeria.
“Since the assumption of office of Cp Ahmed Iliyasu as Commissioner of Police in Ogun State, not less than eleven policemen have been dismissed for various offences, such as Corruption, extortion as well as incivility to members of the public. “In Ijebu-Ode area Command alone, 4 policemen accused of corruption were tried, found guilty and dismissed from service in 2017.
“Also, an Inspector of Police by name Buga Ezekiel formally in SARS was not only dismissed after found guilty of forcefully extorting money from members of the public, but he was also charged to court.”
The PRO enjoined Nigerians to report any officer that extort them to the most senior officer in the division assuring them the “force will take such matter up using its IGP X Squad, Monitoring Units, PCRRU.”