Lagos man claims police officers extorted him, investigation underway

A Lagos resident, Nasir Ahmed, has accused three police officers of extorting him. He said they stopped his vehicle on the Apapa-Oshodi Expressway and claimed he was driving against traffic.

The Lagos State Police Command said they are looking into the claim. They also noted that they have not yet found a connection between one of the officers named by Ahmed and the police.

According to Ahmed, the incident occurred on Thursday. He was on his way to work and had just stopped at Pinnacle Filling Station along the expressway.

Ahmed’s friend, Abdulqadr Hanzolah, shared Ahmed’s story on Facebook. He said the police stopped Ahmed right after he left the filling station and tried to join the expressway.

"Shortly after I left the filling station and attempted to join the expressway, three police officers in a Korope bus blocked my vehicle and alleged that I had followed a one-way route," Hanzolah quoted Ahmed as saying.

Hanzolah mentioned that one of the officers wore a uniform with the name Michael Monday. The officers entered Ahmed’s vehicle and insisted they would take him to Alausa, Ikeja.

"I called people I knew to intervene and explain the situation, but the officers refused to listen," the post quoted Ahmed as saying.

Hanzolah said the policemen drove Ahmed around several areas, including Apapa, Mile 2, Oshodi, Ilupeju, Palmgrove, and Onipanu.

"During this time, they demanded ₦500,000 from me before they would release me. They later reduced the amount and said the least they would accept was ₦250,000," Ahmed was quoted as saying.

The Facebook post also said that while they were at Ilasamaja, the policemen used Ahmed’s vehicle to carry out their operations. Hanzolah stated that one officer later asked the others to leave the vehicle while he negotiated with Ahmed.

The officer allegedly told Ahmed to transfer ₦6,000 to an OPay account belonging to Lukumon Aro Olaseni. "He provided the account from memory while driving," the post quoted Ahmed as saying.

Ahmed managed to make the ₦6,000 transfer as mentioned in the post. Hanzolah also said the policemen later gave Ahmed another account belonging to Emomotimi Rollins Kwasi and asked him to transfer money to it.

This transfer did not go through due to network issues, according to the post. Hanzolah said the policemen then asked Ahmed if he had cash and searched his vehicle to check the amount he claimed he had.

The post mentioned that the officers took Ahmed to a POS stand in Ilupeju, where ₦50,000 was withdrawn from his account. Ahmed told PUNCH Online on Saturday that he had to borrow money from friends during the ordeal.

"I had to borrow money from friends to raise the amount they demanded because of the situation I found myself in," he said.

He added that his transaction history showed he bought fuel worth ₦15,000 before two friends transferred ₦9,000 and ₦30,000 to him. Ahmed said the records could verify the source and timing of the funds involved.

In his complaint to the Lagos State Police Command’s Complaint Response Unit on Thursday, Ahmed wrote, "Kindly help intervene in unlawful extortion and waste of my resources, round-tripping from Cele, Apapa, Oshodi, Ilupeju and Palmgrove meted out to me today before Cele bus stop along Apapa-Oshodi Expressway by policemen."

He provided the command with details of the incident, including the name Michael Monday, which was on the uniform of one of the officers. He also shared the details of the accounts where he was told to transfer money.

After reaching his office, Ahmed called the OPay number he sent ₦6,000 to, hoping to recognize the voice of the person who answered. He also contacted the Lagos State Police Command through its complaint response channel and sent evidence of the payments and a photo of the policeman.

The command later sent him a picture and asked, "Was this person part of the people that collected money from you, sir?"

Ahmed replied, "Yes." He added, "He asked me to transfer 6k to his OPay account before they gave me another account details which network wasn’t okay before they took me to POS point at Ilupeju to withdraw 50,000."

The Complaint Response Unit later replied, "Investigation ongoing." Speaking to PUNCH Online, Ahmed said he had not received any updates from the police since his complaint.

He mentioned he got the command's contact from a media organization. "I sent the evidence, the evidence of payment and the picture of the policeman that I gathered. The OPay number that transferred the money and the smart one that remained," Ahmed said.

Ahmed said the person in charge of his complaint later asked him to resend the information. "So I sent the picture and everything I sent to them. I haven’t got feedback since Thursday," he said.

He noted that he was told the matter was being investigated. The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Abimbola Adebisi, informed PUNCH Online that the command was aware of the case and had started steps to find out what happened.

Adebisi said they looked into the two accounts linked to the payments. "We don’t have such a name in our record," she said, referring to one of the account names. She added that they were waiting for permission from the Commissioner of Police to continue their investigations and find the person.

"We are taking permission from the CP to proceed with our findings in locating the guy," Adebisi said. She also confirmed that they examined the photo sent by Ahmed.

"Yes, the uniform picture he sent to us," she said. Adebisi mentioned that they checked a TikTok account connected to the person in the photo but did not find any link to the police.

"We checked through the TikTok page, no, nothing to link the man to the account," she said. She emphasized that not finding a link does not mean they have dismissed the allegation.

"That doesn’t mean that we are not investigating. We are. We are taking further steps that I cannot share with you at the moment," Adebisi said.

According to her, the Commissioner of Police is aware of the situation. She said Ahmed would be contacted if they find a link or need him for identification.

"As soon as we have a link or call him to come around for identification, but he should just calm down and give us time," she said.

In a follow-up response to Ahmed on Saturday, the police CRU said, "We are still investigating the issue. We will get back to you, sir."