The Lagos State Police Command has commenced disciplinary proceedings against officers of the Tactical Unit attached to the Mile 2 Police Station over the alleged extortion of N100,000 from four young men.
The action followed a report of the incident and public attention generated after the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ) reported the alleged misconduct.
Area Commander, ACP Godwin Oti Chike, confirmed that the command had commenced investigation into the matter and obtained statements from the four men involved.
Oti said the officers implicated in the incident had also refunded the N100,000 allegedly collected from the victims.
“I have taken the statements from the boys involved and I have gotten the officers to refund the money to them and the issue has been resolved amicably,” he said.
He identified the officers as members of the Tactical Unit attached to the Mile 2 Police Station, adding that he intervened in the matter in his capacity as the commanding officer.
The four young men were reportedly detained after Tactical Unit officers apprehended them while they were returning to their hotel following a visit to Festival Cinema in FESTAC, Lagos.
One of the victims, Ayomide Akinpelu Salvation, told FIJ that the incident started when he and his three friends ran after hearing a commotion and people scrambling with cutlasses.
According to him, the group encountered the police officers while attempting to leave the area and were allegedly accused of being armed robbers.
Akinpelu said the officers questioned them about the whereabouts of guns and a dagger, alleging that the four men had thrown away weapons while fleeing.
The young men reportedly explained that they had just left a cinema and were on their way back to their hotel. They also showed the officers their cinema tickets but were allegedly accused of being cultists.
The officers subsequently took the four men to the Mile 2 Police Station at about 11pm, where they were questioned about why they had fled the area.
Akinpelu said the officers described the location as a known meeting point for cultists and told the men that their parents would be contacted to come to the station the following morning.
At about 1:30am, the men were reportedly called one after another to write statements. After Akinpelu completed his statement, an officer allegedly asked how much the group could raise if they were required to provide bail.
He said the officer asked whether they could raise N5 million, to which he responded that they could not, adding that he was not sure he had N100,000 in his personal bank account.
According to Akinpelu, the officer later asked him to display his bank account balance at about 2am, after which his three friends were also allegedly instructed to show theirs.
The four men were then reportedly asked how much they could contribute among themselves. They said they could raise N100,000, although the amount was allegedly rejected initially after an officer said a superior had turned it down.
Akinpelu said a superior officer later spoke with them at about 5am and questioned them about the circumstances surrounding their arrest. The men repeated that they had fled because of the commotion and presented evidence showing that they had been at the cinema.
The four men eventually contributed N100,000 and were released that morning, according to Akinpelu. A transfer receipt obtained in connection with the incident showed that the money was paid into an OPay account bearing the name Wahab Ayinde Abdulrasaq.
Akinpelu maintained that nothing incriminating was found on the four men and that they had cinema tickets, payment receipts and photographs showing their activities shortly before their arrest.
Following the report, the Area Commander intervened, obtained statements from the victims and facilitated the refund of the N100,000. The Lagos State Police Command has also indicated that disciplinary action will be taken against the officers involved.