The policeman
The
Anambra State Police Command on Wednesday said it had begun questioning
the policeman attached to one of its divisions in Onitsha, caught on
video demanding a bribe of N10,000 from a motorist.
The state conmmand’s Police Public
Relations Officer, Emeka Chukwuemeka, who spoke with our correspondent
on the telephone, said the outcome of the investigation would be made
public as soon as it was concluded.
Chukwuemeka, a Deputy Superintendent of
Police, said the manner the video was shot made it easy for the
authorities to identify the policeman in question.
The police spokesman, who assured
members of the public that the policeman would be made to face the full
wrath of the law if found guilty, said the police would not condone any
acts of corruption.
He said, “His identity was clearly
revealed in the video that went viral on the Internet. An in-house
investigation has since started and when we conclude, we will make the
outcome public. It is noteworthy that the Nigeria Police Force remains
one of the few organisations in this country that punishes one of its
own whenever they err.
“Corruption is bad and anybody caught in
the web of corrupt practices will be punished in accordance with our
statute books. All acts of corruption are condemnable and we will never
condone it. Corruption is evil. We appeal that nobody condones it.”
When asked for the name and rank of the
policeman, Chukwuemeka declined to provide the information and directed
our correspondent to check for it online.
In the three-minute 18-second video
which has since become an Internet sensation, the man in uniform was
seen seated in the front seat with the driver demanding the N10,000
bribe after he had observed some discrepancies between the vehicle
particulars and its chassis number.
Several appeals by the driver who was
coming from Akure, Ondo State, to Umuahia, Abia State, before he was
stopped in Onitsha, fell on deaf ears.
The drivers had explained that the
mix-up was unintended, adding that the vehicle was not a stolen one. He
even offered to pray for the policeman.
PUNCH
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