Police arrest 7 officers for alleged extortion

From Okey Sampson, Umuahia

The Zone 9 Police Command, Umuahia, Abia State, has arrested seven police officers over alleged extortion and commenced investigations into their activities.

The Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG), Zone 9, Dr Polycarp Emeka, disclosed this in his office, saying the seven officers were attached to the S-Squad of the Abia State Police Command.

Emeka alleged that the officers operated across nine local government areas of the state, including Aba, Obingwa, Ukwa East and Ukwa West, and had allegedly extorted more than 200 people.

He said preliminary investigations indicated that the officers targeted patent medicine dealers and proprietors of maternity homes, conducting what they described as sting operations before allegedly seizing pharmaceutical products, money and other valuables from their victims.

The AIG said three of the officers — Inspector Bright Ekwueme, Sergeant Gideon Ukachukwu and Corporal Amobi Solomon — were arrested following investigations triggered by complaints from the president-general of one of the affected communities.

According to him, the officers allegedly lodged in hotels for weeks while conducting the operations, adding that their activities did not follow approved police procedures.

Emeka said the alleged activities had been ongoing for more than a year, stressing that such conduct undermined public confidence in the police and must be stopped.

He disclosed that investigators recovered pharmaceutical products allegedly seized from members of the public, as well as a Hummer bus and security-crest jackets linked to the suspects.

The AIG said the Nigeria Police Force would not tolerate any betrayal of the oath of office or conduct capable of bringing the police uniform into disrepute.

He added that the integrity of the Force remained paramount, assuring that officers found culpable would face appropriate disciplinary and legal processes.