TWO POLICE OFFICERS IN DELTA ALLEGEDLY EXTORT N1.8m

Two police officers attached to AIG Zone 5 Benin have alleged­ly extorted two boys of N1.8 million at gunpoint in Effurun, Delta State.

Trouble started when a Warri-based Human Right Lawyer, Omes Ogedegbe, alleged on a post on his Facebook page that the boys were alleged­ly dragged down from a tri­cycle into a Camry car at gunpoint by the PTI junc­tion last week.

 According to him, “This afternoon while I was in the office secretariat, our Delta Central coordinator who doubles as the UPU Youth President, Comrade Umukoro Efemina, came to the office with his vice and two teenage boys whom he directed to narrate their ordeals to me and it was very devas­tating.

“They claimed the both of them were in a tricycle when a Camry car stopped them and dragged them into the car at gunpoint by the PTI junction. They were immediately placed in handcuffs and taken to a POS stand at the Plaza by PTI junction.

“The policemen were only two in number. One took the ATM card and the pin of one of them to the POS but the card failed. Then he returned and led one of the boys to the POS stand where the boy with the aid of his phone transferred N400, 000 which appears as his limit.

“They moved them to First Bank, Effurun, while one was in handcuff in the car, the police led the other to the bank and transferred N1.4million to the POS la­dy’s account making a total of N1.8million.

“The Delta State CP with zero tolerance for corrup­tion, extortion, robbery and hostage-taking direct­ed the DPO Ebrumede to arrest the POS owner who was taken to the station.

“The boys recalled that while at the Plaza they remembered someone greeted the police and told them he would meet them in their Hotel along the DSC express road. We in­formed the CP about it and proceeded to the hotel with a Senior Police Officer and behold one of the wanted officers was right in front of us.

“The senior police offi­cer with us immediately disarmed him but before he could be arrested he had swiftly scaled the fence and escaped leaving his official rifle behind.

“This case is terrif­ic and mind bugling. We have done several recover­ies which I enjoy keeping out of the press but I am tempted to make this pub­lic as kidnapping cannot be less defined.”

Attempts by a team of police acting on the direc­tive of the Commissioner to arrest the suspects at their hideout along DSS express road were unsuc­cessful, as one of them escaped leaving his gun behind, assuring that the manhunt continues.

A senior police officer in the state who spoke to us in confidence con­firmed the report saying “Yes we are on their trail, they will not escape jus­tice, the current CP in Del­ta has a zero-tolerance for officers who abuse their position and office.

When contacted to con­firm the report, the Com­missioner of Police, Delta State Police Command, Mr. Hafiz Mohammed Inuwa, said he had yet to be fully briefed