Four policemen on trial for extorting N1m from corpers

Four police officers are on trial after allegedly extorting N1 million from three National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members in Surulere, Lagos State.

The spokesperson for the Lagos State Police Command, Benjamin Hundeyin, disclosed this on his X handle on Friday.

An X user, Oluyemi Fasipe, with the handle @YemieFash, posted a video showing how the officers stopped the corps members in their car, threatened them, took them away, and reportedly extorted N1 million from them.

“Dear @BenHundeyin, Your officers today in Surulere extorted 1 million naira from 3 corps members,” he wrote.

“They were threatened with firearms, kidnapped, and taken to the KAFARU OLUWOLE TINUBU HOUSE AREA C POLICE COMMAND of the @LagosPoliceNG, where they were robbed. Their offense was the absence of a physical copy of a driver’s license. This is evil!”

Reacting to the incident, Hundeyin disclosed that the officers have been summoned and are facing trial.

“The men have been summoned, and their trial has commenced. We urge the complainants to visit the Complaint Response Unit at the State Headquarters to testify at the ongoing trial.”

In April 2022, an Assistant Superintendent of Police, ASP Eyitere Joseph, was arrested for extorting N50,000 from a corps member in the Meiran area of Lagos.

The arrest of the officer, attached to the Meiran division, followed a video that went viral on social media where he was seen demanding money from the corps member.

The corps member was accused of driving without a driver’s license and was asked to part with N50,000 before being allowed to leave.

However, after the officer’s arrest, the N50,000 was retrieved from him and refunded to the victim.