Five police officers have been detained by the Osun State Police Command for extorting the sum of N75,000 from three travellers along Osogbo/Iwo Road in Osun state.
The officers were identified and detained on Friday after they were caught in the act by the Speaker of Osun State House of Assembly, Mr. Wale Egbedun, who reported them to the Commissioner of Police.
A statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the Speaker, Olamide Tiamiyu, the state lawmakers was stopped by the victims of the extortion who were reportedly heading to Osogbo to participate in the annual Osun-Osogbo festival
“The victims who were travelling for the Osun Osogbo festival scheduled for tomorrow (Saturday), narrated their ordeal in the hands of the officers. They added that the policemen, who refused all pleas to allow them to continue their journey, eventually forced three people among them to make a transfer of N25,000 each.
“When approached to hear their sides of the story, the leader of the police team confirmed to the Speaker that they collected the quoted amount from the three commuters and pleaded for forgiveness.
“The Speaker then called the Osun State Commissioner of Police, Kehinde Longe, to report the conduct of his personnel to him, who immediately summoned the officers to the state headquarters for possible disciplinary action.”
Reacting to the development, the Police Public Relations Officer of Osun Command, Yemisi Opalola, revealed that the policemen have been identified by the command and detained and added that the state Commissioner of Police would not tolerate acts of indiscipline by members of the Nigeria Police under his watch.
“The police officers involved in this unprofessional and unethical behaviour have been identified, arrested and detained.
“The Police Command frowned on and condemned the act in totality as the erring police officers have been detained since Thursday, 10/08/2023 and are undergoing investigation and eventual disciplinary procedure of orderly room trial for their unprofessional conduct, while the senior officer among them has been queried accordingly.”
