Police return extorted N834,000, sanction 17 officers

The Nigerian Police has returned ₦834,000 extorted by its officers from members of the public to the owners between July and September 2017. The force has also sanctioned 17 police officers, including the suspension of an Assistant Superintendent of Police in Ikorodu, Lagos State, during the period for corrupt practices.

According to a statement by the Police Public Complaint Rapid Response Unit on Monday, the crackdown on corrupt officers is in line with Federal Government desire to bring an end to impunity by police officers.

The statement reads: “In the pursuit of implementing the ‘Change Begins with Me’ campaign of the Federal Government and in line with the desire of the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Ibrahim Idris, in bringing an end to impunity, the Public Complaint Rapid Response Unit in the third quarter of 2017 recovered and returned a total sum of ₦834,000 extorted money to members of the public.

The PCRRU said it received 764 complaints in the period under review.“The Lagos State command topped the ranking table with 180 complaints (23.56%), followed by Rivers State with 102 (13.35%) and FCT-Abuja 87 (11.39%). Sokoto and Plateau State Commands recorded no complaint in the period under review.