Three policemen, believed to be working with the
Enugu State Police Command have been accused of arresting a bus passenger, Nnanemere
Valentine Chidi, for being in possession of a laptop and then demanding for
N500, 000 as bail.
The alleged policemen were said to have been
operating in a vehicle with inscription 'Urban Patrol.’
The arrest of the bus passenger was brought to the
attention of Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC), a nonprofit
governmental human rights advocacy organization.
RULAAC has also drawn the attention of the Enugu
State Commissioner of Police to the conduct of the policemen through a petition.
According to RULAAC, on June 7, it received a
distress call from passengers travelling from Awka, Anambra State to Abuja in a
commercial Sienna car belonging to ‘First Anambra Company.’
It was gathered that on the fateful day at about
10am, the bus was flagged down around Opi junction, Nsukka, by three policemen
who were at a checkpoint. All the passengers were ordered to come down for a
search.
The Acting Program Director of RULAAC, Peter Nkanga,
explained: “The police officers, upon seeing a laptop in the bag of Nnanemere
Valentine Chidi, decided to take him to the station, for a check of his laptop
and phones, to ascertain that he was not a ‘Yahoo boy.’
“Nnanemere told them that he was not a ‘Yahoo boy’
and identified himself as working with TY-FIYATA as a translator, showing his
identity card; but the policemen refused to listen. Other passengers also
begged them, but they also refused.”
Nnanemere reportedly said: “They searched my bag and
took my official laptop and two Huawei phones a colleague of mine asked me to
repair, and accused me of being a yahoo boy. They also tried to persuade me to
confess. I showed them my complimentary card and other ID cards, but they took
me to one office, not a police station, where they took my statement. They took
me to EFCC junction in Independence Layout. On the way, they told me that it
was better I settled them if not I would spend more when we got there, and
probably lose my job. They asked me to give them N500, 000. After much begging,
we ended at N30, 000. They took me to UBA in Enugu, where I withdrew N40,
000. I gave them N30, 000.”
At time, his fellow passengers had left him with the
policemen, to continue on their journey to Abuja. According to Nnanemere, having
extorted the money from him, “they took me to a junction and directed me to
Peace Park where I could get bus back to Abuja. On my way to Abuja at around
2:30pm, they called me with this number, 07010596309, that I had forgotten the
phones. They spoke with the driver and told him to stop at a junction. When he
got there, they gave me the phones.”
One of the passengers in the car, corroborated the
victim’s story. The passenger said: “After
searching our luggage, a young man sitting behind was asked to switch on his
laptop which he did. Rather than look through, the officer decided he has to
take the laptop to the station to verify he was not a yahoo boy. This was despite
showing his ID card and the rest of us asking that the laptop should be checked
there.”
The passenger disclosed: “The policemen were wearing
bullet proof jackets, which covered their name tags and service numbers. When
we got to that police post inside an estate, I insisted on seeing their
superior so they could check what they have to check on the laptop and allow us
go, they told me he was not around, that we have to wait for him.”
He further said: “On the body of their vehicle and
on the wall of the police station close to where they took us were written
‘Urban Patrol.’ There were other, white Toyota patrol Pick Up vehicles, parked
there with the inscription ‘Urban Patrol’ ‘Donated by Enugu State Government.’
It was like an Estate Police Post. Ikenga Estate inside Bank of Industry
Complex. Near that Estate is the CBN Office.”
Nkanga said: “RULAAC considers the conduct of the
police officers involved as criminal, reprehensible and unjustifiable. Their
actions, in our view, amount to abduction, hostage taking, blackmail, and
robbery.”
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