Thread by @segalink

So on the 1st of February, 2019, 4 friends were on our way from Enugu to Abuja after attending the burial of the father to their mutual friend at Okija in Anambra state, immediately after Obollo Afor in Enugu state they were stopped at a check point and a search was conducted,...

Needless to state the spate of robberies and kidnapping on that stretch in the dead zone with no network coverage, many people travel on that path with security escort but one of the boys has a licence to carry fire arm with an expiry date of 2020.

While the search was going on, the fire arm was found and the owner of the vehicle informed the policemen that he had a license and went further to present the license. The policemen immediately brought out handcuffs and cuffed 4 of them and summarily tagged them Kidnappers.

They were taken to the most senior officer where they introduced themselves as public servants, engineer and farmer. The owner of the vehicle was slapped by the most senior officer twice & they were threatened at gun point & ordered into the Police vehicle.

They were told they were being taken to SARS office in Enugu for documentation as kidnappers but the victims pleaded to be left since they had a license but they were told there was an order to retrieve all licensed and unlicensed arms by the new IG. Which was a blatant lie.

For fear for their lives with the constant threat to kill all 4 of them when they got to the dead zone with no network, the officers as reported demanded to be paid N2Million or have the world read of their story in the papers the next day as killed in gun battle.

All the while they couldn’t be reached their cousin who knew about their trip has been calling our numbers reporting that the last they heard from them was being arrested and being dragged back to Enugu. So we started trying to reach out to stations within Enugu for intervention.

Then the negotiation started for their lives. They pleaded with them and they finally accepted to collected over N430,000 while taking them to FCMB, GTB and Union Bank at Nsukka to rake in the cash. After a successful intimidation & armed robbery they were driven to the border...

...between branch junction one leading to lokoja the other to Ajaokuta & their vehicle and registered firearm was handed back to them to continue our journey. The robbery was carried out by officers in vehicle number NPF 774 7C, two officers spoke edoma language & one was Hausa.

This is just one out of many stories along our highways across Nigeria. Many weren’t so lucky having lost their lives to Policemen running their own organized crime. People often pray to meet armed robbers now on the highway than policemen whose duty is now to extort travelers.

We have instructed the victims who barely survived that ordeal to write a petition to the IGP copying the Force PRO and @PoliceNG_PCRRU @YomiShogunle and we will follow up on the investigation to ensure these criminals are caught and brought to book with the Money retrieved.

The only way we can build the bridge of trust effectively is when this kind of brigandage is abated by making an example of criminals within the system especially the lawless ones on our highways seeking to incriminate travelers. If we must trust U, this is the best way to start.

Things have worsened on the highways for citizens since the announcement of the purported disbandment of FSARS which in the real sense is just the empowerment of commissioners of Police with the elite squad moved under their command when they can hardly control their policemen.

I have never heard in my life where police officers will demand a N2Million Naira bride unless they have been working with Armed Robbers and Kidnappers for years. We hope the new IGP will carry our necessary reshuffle and weed out these criminals. @ParodySpokesman

In Delta State, a young man was driving home at about 5pm and he was stopped by the Police for stop and search. They demanded his ID card and he showed it to them. They retorted by demanding to know why a young man like him would be working in Chevron. They cuffed him...

...and took him to their station claiming that they must verify the authenticity of his ID Card. They took his phone from him and only allowed him to call anyone who could bring huge ransom. I asked that they report to @PoliceNG_PCRRU but no one took the call.

Eventually when they picked they said they can only act when the detention is over 24hrs. This was an illegal abduction by the way, in 24hrs elements like CSP Eyoh who torture innocent citizen for a living to obtain forced confession would have done his job. #ReformPoliceNG

Just at the entrance of Ibadan toll gate there is an officer who has made a god of himself there stoping vehicles and seizing laptops while ordering travelers to return to Lagos to bring the receipts after turning their cars upside down in search for God knows what.

After speaking with the “felon” on the phone of the distraught family that have been kept there for hours, he said he will Never release their laptop until the man returns to Lagos to bring the receipt because he must know what the laptop is used for. I have called the ForcePRO.

Police officers like this are not meant to be retained in the system but relieved and kept on a watch list. This is is armed robbery and false imprisonment. The New IGP must shut down the highway checkpoint and replace them with patrols whose activities are keenly monitored.

The Coward just released the laptop and apologized to the family but we won’t stop here until he is arrested and charged. @citizen_gavel