Crimes

Police officers face trial for extorting Rivers resident N620,000

The Rivers State Police Command says it is investigating some policemen alleged to have forcefully abducted and extorted a resident of N620,000 at gunpoint.

The command’s spokesperson, SP Grace Iringe-Koko, who made this known in a statement issued on Monday, September 4, 2023, said the command would not shield the officers from prosecution if found guilty.

The victim, identified as Daniel, was allegedly abducted recently at about 9 p.m. by policemen while he was returning to his home in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.

It was gathered that the police officers beat and forcefully took the victim to a remote village outside the city and withdrew N620,000 from his bank account with the help of an accomplice, a Point of Sale (PoS) vendor.

Iringe-Koko, however, said the Rivers State Commissioner of Police, Nwonyi Emeka, was worried by the reports and had ordered an investigation to apprehend the corrupt officers.

The police spokesperson stated: “Our attention has been drawn to an alleged extortion of N620,000 by some men said to be police officers wearing mufti along Sani Abacha Road in Port Harcourt.

“Nwonyi Emeka takes misconduct seriously and is concerned about the reported incident, hence, investigation is underway to prosecute the personnel if found guilty.”

Iringe-Koko said the police commissioner had assured that he would never protect any personnel found to be culpable of any criminal offence in the state, adding: “So, this matter will not be swept under the carpet as any policemen involved in crime would be prosecuted accordingly.

“The affected person should come to the command headquarters at Moscow Road, Port Harcourt, to report the matter to enable us fish out the culprits.”

The Star