){kind=link}
Four police officers attached to Zone 2 Command, Onikan, Lagos, have been accused of extorting ₦1.53 million at gunpoint from a National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) member, Tope Olugboja, and assaulting his colleague, Damilola Babaleye, for refusing to yield to their demands.
The incident reportedly occurred near the Isheri Police Division, Lagos, and has sparked public outrage, rekindling calls for urgent police reforms.
According to a petition by a concerned citizen, Barr. Tolu Babaleye, the four officers, who were not in uniform and failed to identify themselves, intercepted the corps members after they had dropped off friends travelling to Ondo State.
The victims, both engineers serving in Lagos, were allegedly forced into a vehicle and taken to the Zone 2 Command headquarters in Onikan.
At the AIG’s office in Onikan, the officers allegedly demanded ₦20 million, which they later reduced to ₦5 million, before coercing Tope to borrow ₦1.5 million from his sister and friend under threats of death.
An additional ₦30,000 was reportedly extorted as a “POS operator fee” within the police premises.
The officers were also accused of seizing Damilola’s phone, laptop bag, and Tope’s Lexus 350 SUV, abandoning their own vehicle at Isheri Division.
Through phone tracking, the victims were able to trace the suspects to an office within the AIG’s complex at Onikan, a facility allegedly unknown to the Assistant Inspector General of Police in charge of Zone 2.
Damilola, who resisted the extortion, was allegedly beaten and sustained serious injuries.
“They threatened to waste me if I didn’t pay,” Tope recounted, while Damilola described a harrowing phone call where an officer shouted threats with “venom” in his voice.
Efforts to reach the Zone 2 Police Public Relations Officer, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, proved abortive as calls and messages were not returned.
“This is a litmus test for the Nigeria Police Force,” said the whistleblower, Barr. Babaleye, who claimed to possess evidence of the bank transfers and the phone number of one of the officers involved.
“These are armed robbers in uniform, preying on young Nigerians serving their nation.”
The victims are demanding a full investigation, recovery of the ₦1.53 million extorted, payment of hospital bills, and ₦5 million compensation each for assault and loss of property.
Barr. Babaleye vowed to escalate the case to the Inspector General of Police, the National Human Rights Commission, and media organizations to ensure justice is served.