By Nchetachi Chukwuajah
The Nigeria Police Force says it has arrested and detained a police officer accused of extorting N10,000 from a motorist in the Idimu area of Lagos State.
The officer’s arrest and subsequent detention followed a viral video shared online by @epicycl on Monday, April 20, in which a driver alleged that he was stopped despite having complete vehicle documents and was later pressured for money over a disputed claim about his car colour.
In the video, the motorist said the officer insisted that the vehicle was “grey” instead of “ash” as stated in the registration documents, and allegedly threatened delay and arrest before demanding N30,000, which was later negotiated down to N10,000.
In a statement shared on X on Wednesday, April 22, the police confirmed that the officer involved has been identified, arrested, detained, and queried.
According to the statement, disciplinary procedures against the officer are underway, adding that further details on the outcome of the investigation will be made public after internal review processes are concluded.
The statement said, “UPDATE: The officer seen in the viral video as posted by #epiccycl has been identified, arrested, detained and queried.The #LagosPoliceNG will provide full outcome of the investigation as soon as possible.”
Following the tweet of the officer’s arrest, some Nigerians took to social media, especially X, to commend the police force for the prompt response to the issue.
Some others also narrated their experiences of extortion by police officers at different checkpoints across the country and called on citizens to speak up against such actions.
@largestb1 tweeted, “Corruption has eaten so much into some of our police officers’ heart that they will not even recognise when trouble is coming their way…so dumb.”
@SkytexGlow wrote, “They will be exposed one by one… I know this man very well, very harsh man wey no sabi Ash color. We young men don suffer for police hand, especially in Alimosho. You see Ayobo and Idimu is not a go area.”
@temptation vibe added, “Someone’s father, look at his face. He’s one of the bad eggs that always spoil the good name of some Nigerian police officers. No integrity, no respect. You want to keep stealing and extorting young people’s hard-earned money… thief.”
@DiogenesLaertus said, “More citizens need to take it on themselves to post these videos of police extortion racket. We know this is how they operate. This man and his crew all need at least demotions. There are still decent people in our police force. These bad eggs bring bad name to those people.”
