Police accused of withdrawing N40,000 from students’ accounts

Taiwo Jimoh

 

IGP, Usman Alkali

Two students of Alex Ekwueme Federal University, Ebonyi State, have accused some policemen of allegedly withdrawing N40,000 from their bank accounts after alleging them of being internet fraudsters.

The students, Michael Okonkwo and his friend Chukwu Madoforo, encountered the policemen along airport route, Lagos State, while heading to the local airport to board a flight to Ebonyi State.

The policemen allegedly marched them to the nearest Automated Teller Machine (ATM) and Point of sales (POS) and successfully withdrew N40, 000 from their banks. This was after accusing them of being internet fraudsters.  The policemen collected N30,000 from the POS and N10,000 from the ATM. The incident happened on August 14, 2021.

 

According to the boys, the policemen flagged down their Uber driving who was taking to the airport. The driver was signaled to stop at the front of Golden Tulip Hotel, along Airport Road. The boys were then ordered to step down, after which they were thoroughly searched. Okonkwo and Madoforo maintained that no incriminating items were found on them.

 

The victims said they also showed the policemen their school identity cards, explaining that they were returning to school, but the policemen turned deaf ears to their explanations. In spite of the explanations, the policemen accused the boys of being internet fraudsters.  They further delayed them until they missed their flight.

Okonkwo and Madoforo described the policemen attitude to them as, “pure harassment and extortion.”

 

Okonkwo stated that it was due to the insecurity on Nigerian roads and to avoid being kidnapped, that their parents instructed them to board a plan to Owerri, Imo State, and from there to take a cab to Ebonyi State, where the university is located.

 

He further said: “We were almost at the airport when the policemen stopped our Uber driver and ordered us to step down, that we looked like internet fraudsters. The vehicle and our luggage were searched, but nothing incriminating was found on us. The Uber driver was allowed to go, but we were asked to stay back. My friend and I brought out our identity cards, showed them that we are students, just returning to school. They asked us how we could afford to take a flight at our ages.  We told them it was our parents who paid for it, and that was how they said we should follow them to their station. Before we left the scene, one of them pushed and slapped me, attempting to provoke me into a fight, but I refused to react.”

 

When they got to the police station at Ikeja, the policemen didn’t book them for any offence, but rather asked them to wait outside. Another policeman went to the students outside, asking what led to them being brought to the station.

 

 

After pretending to have listened to their explanation, he urged them to ‘settle’ his colleagues. The students were then asked to cough up N200,000, but after negotiation, it was reduced to N40,000.

 

Okonkwo said: “The policemen took us to an ATM point, where we withdrew N10,000 and then later withdrew another N30,000 from a POS operator. They deliberately took us to two different places in order to cover their tracks. But before we got to where we got the money, I had called my mother, who was already on her way to the scene. When we were eventually released, our flight had gone.”

 

According to Okonkwo, instead of returning home, their parents sent money, advised them to lodge at a hotel close to the airport and rescheduled their flight with an additional N80,000.

 

“The whole idea in taking a flight was to avoid being kidnapped or robbed on the road, but even now, policemen have robbed us! I thought after the #EndSARS Protest, policemen would have been told to stop harassing people, but the reverse is the case. I pray God will change Nigeria for us,” said Okonkwo.

 

His mother, Mrs. Evelyn Okonkwo said she wants the policemen to be identified and punished because what they did to the boys was robbery in broad daylight.

 

She said: “After bidding them safe trip, what I was expecting was a phone call to tell me that they had landed. The flight was supposed to leave by 11:40am.  But instead the call I received was my son telling me that police stopped them. Before I could get to where they were stopped by some policemen, extorted and then allowed to go. I rushed down to the scene, only for me to call them and I was told they had been allowed to go. When the boys got to the airport, the flight had already gone. The money the policemen collected was for their upkeep. I also begged my son not to argue with the policemen because a lot of innocent victims had been killed from police accidental discharges.”

 

Evelyn said that a petition had already been written to the Airport Commissioner of Police to look into the matter. She insisted that she wanted the money extorted and the money used in paying for the victims’ flight refunded.

Her words: “They also have to refund money used in rescheduling their flight and pay for the hotel they lodged. If the policemen had not delayed them, they wouldn’t have lodge in the hotel or reschedule their flight. The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), should make an effort to reform the police, and make it standard like what is obtainable in other parts of the world, where citizens’ rights are protected.”

 

The Executive Director, the Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre, (RULAAC), Mr. Okechukwu Nwanguma, said: “It was   Mrs. Okonkwo that called and confirmed that her son and his fellow student were held hostage along Airport Road by some police officers on a Stop-and-Search operation. She rushed to the scene, to find out what the boys did, only to be told that the boys had been released after the police collected money from them.”

 

Nwanguma further noted: “Before Mrs. Okonkwo could get to the spot where her son and his colleague were held, her son called again to tell her that the officers had allowed them to go after extorting the sum of N40,000 from the two of them, money meant for their upkeep in school. By the time the boys arrived at the airport, their flight had left. They missed their Air Peace flight scheduled for 11:40 am. They had to lodge in a hotel and travelled the following day at an extra cost of N80,000. The policemen still delayed and pushed one of them to provoke him into a fight, despite searching their bags and didn't find anything incriminating. This is shocking for two reasons; that police officers trained and paid to serve and protect citizens could descend to hold young students who could be their children- to ransom and ignored their explanations that they were students returning to school and their pleas to let them go - since they were not found with anything incriminating so that they would not miss their flights, fell on deaf ears. They robbed them of their money and made them miss their flight."

 

Nwanguma said that in spite of the current raging issue of police corruption and abuse of power, which has again put Nigeria in the spotlight of international criticism, these officers could not be deterred or persuaded to minimise their greed for money acquired through extortion.

 

He added: "We have written to the Commissioner of Police, Airport Command, Ikeja, to identify these despicable corrupt officers, and ensures that they refund the total amount of money extorted from these hapless students as well as refund the total cost of their tickets. We also want the command to ensures that the officers involved in this criminal act which contravenes police professional standards and brings the image of the police to further disrepute be subjected to appropriate disciplinary measures in accordance with the Police Rules and Regulations. We also want the CP to take further actions he deems necessary to remedy the violation of the rights of the students, reassure the victims and the general public that the command does not condone or tolerate corruption and abuse of police powers.”

 

The Airport Police Command, Spokespersons, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, (DSP), Mr. Olayinka Ojelade, denied that the policemen were from their command. He explained that the spot said where the incident occurred does not fall under Airport Police jurisdiction.

 

He added: “Where the incident occurred falls under the Lagos State Police Command. It is policemen from Makinde Police Station that used to mount check point at the front of the Golden Tulip Hotel. We are ready to work with the victims if they can come and identify the policemen who collected the money from them. Airport Command will not tolerate nonsense! We’re available to give them all the necessary support so that they can get justice.”

When the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP),  Adekunle Ajisebutu, was contacted to find out if the jurisdiction falls under Lagos command and if he could fish out the alleged policemen from Makinde Police Station, he, as usual, didn’t pick his calls. Our correspondent made further efforts to send text messages to him on the same subject matter, again, he didn’t reply.