A young man named Daniel has come forward with a harrowing story of how he was allegedly assaulted and extorted by police personnel in Rivers State.
The incident occurred when Daniel was unexpectedly abducted from a Bolt ride by individuals claiming to be policemen, despite not being in uniform.
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According to a report on a popular X handle, PIDOMNIGERIA, the incident took place on Friday, September 1, 2023, around 9 pm, when Daniel decided to buy barbecue fish along Sanni Abacha road GRA in Port Harcourt.
Little did he know that this innocent outing would quickly turn into a nightmare. The said police officers instructed the Bolt driver to leave, and then forcefully drove Daniel to a remote area along the Ogoni axis in their Toyota Sienna.
Once in the secluded location, the alleged culprits quickly discovered Daniel’s account balance and proceeded to subject him to a brutal beating. Under extreme duress, Daniel was coerced into allowing the officers to make an unauthorized transfer from his account. The exact amount extorted from him was a staggering N620k.
“A young man named Daniel was stopped from a bolt ride by some policemen on the road while coming back from buying barbecue fish along Sanni Abacha Road, GRA, in Port Harcourt around 9 pm on Friday, September 1st, 2023. The police searched him but found nothing on him.
“They also searched his phone but found nothing incriminating. They then asked him to enter his bank app pin, which he did. As soon as they saw his account balance, they started beating him. They roughhandled him and bundled him into their Sienna space bus, instructing the bolt driver to go.
“They drove him all the way from Sanni Abacha Road to an unknown village around the Ogoni axis that night. They were not in uniform and had no name tags. They stopped the young man in a bushy area after severely beating him and then asked him to either agree to let them withdraw money from his account or they would kill him and throw his body into the bush. It was a lonely place in the middle of the night, so out of fear for his life, he agreed.
“They took him deep inside a village where their accomplice, a POS agent, was located. They withdrew 620,000 naira in cash from Daniel’s account that midnight and then drove him back to Artillery along Aba Road early in the morning. They dropped him off and abandoned him, leaving him stranded. They gave the POS agent 20,000 naira for charges,” PIDOMNIGERIA wrote in part.
As news of this incident spread, the Force Public Relations Officer (PRO), Muyiwa Adejobi, expressed his concerns and promised that the matter would be thoroughly investigated.
Adejobi assured the public that he personally would take charge of the case and address all the complaints that have been received regarding police misconduct in the Rivers Command.
“This will be looked into again. I am personally taking it up,” said Adejobi, “I agree that we have recorded some cases against the men in Rivers Command, and we will address them all. I want to commend those who have been sending in their complaints. Justice will be done.”
The incident involving Daniel serves as a stark reminder of the ongoing issue of police brutality and corruption in Nigeria. It highlights the urgent need for authorities to take strict action against those who abuse their power and undermine the trust placed in them by the public.
As investigations continue, many are hopeful that justice will prevail and that incidents like these will be met with accountability and reform.
See the details of the transaction below.
Ojelabi, the publisher of Freelanews, is an award winning and professionally trained mass communicator and a recipient of the D9112 Superstar Icon Award, who writes ruthlessly about pop culture, religion, politics and entertainment.
