Lagos Police Dismiss Sergeant For Extorting N98,000 From Civilian

Police misconduct and abuse of power are on the rise despite warnings
Lagos CP sends warning to officers

Eko Hot Blog reports that Sgt. Ekpo Shimuyere, a Lagos-based police officer attached to the Sogunle Division, has been dismissed for extorting N98,000 from a young man.

Confirming his dismissal, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, the state Police Public Relations Officer, via a press statement, said the incident unfolded when the dismissed sergeant seized the victim’s phone and proceeded to use a Point of Sale (PoS) operator to transfer N98,000 from the young man’s bank account, depleting the majority of the N100,000 available.

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SP Benjamin Hundeyin expressed deep concern over the officer’s actions, stating that it directly contradicted the ethics of the police profession.

Such misconduct and abuse of power erode public trust and undermine the integrity of the police force.

He said, “The police command got the complaint from the victim and the officer denied the crime when he was contacted. The command placed him under detention so that he will not tamper with the evidence.

“We wrote to his bank and obtained his statement of account. We were able to trace the money to where the POS operator transferred it before transferring the money to the officer’s account.

“We followed due process to get his account. The victim was invited in the course of the investigation and he testified.

“The POS operator was also invited, and he said the officer requested him to transfer the money from the victim’s account to another one.”

The PPRO said the Sergeant was consequently subjected to an orderly room trial in line with extant laws.