Wednesday, January 28, 2026 - A Lagos-based mechanical engineer, Uchenna Nwachukwu has accused police officers attached to the Area J Police Command of extorting N250,000 from him during a stop-and-search operation in the Ajah area of Lagos State.
According to Punch, the incident occurred on Saturday night
around the Oral Estate area.
Narrating his ordeal to our correspondent on Tuesday,
Nwachukwu said he was flagged down by four policemen while returning home after
dropping off friends. He said the officers searched him and his vehicle but
found nothing incriminating.
“They stopped me around Oral Estate and said they wanted to
search me. I cooperated and stepped out of the car. They searched both me and
the vehicle and found nothing illegal,” he said.
According to him, the officers then demanded his vehicle
documents, which he provided.
“After checking the documents, they asked me to park by the
roadside, claiming I was blocking the road.
I parked properly and switched off the engine as
instructed,” he added.
Nwachukwu alleged that the situation escalated after he
politely questioned the officers about his offence.
“They asked me to step out of the car again. While doing so,
I asked why I was being treated that way since I had committed no offence.
Suddenly, one of them grabbed me by my trousers and damaged my belt,” he said.
He further alleged that his vehicle was seized and towed to
the police station.
According to Nwachukwu, when he reported to the station on
Monday morning, he was asked to write a statement before being told that N5m
would be required for the release of his car.
“I pleaded with them and said I didn’t have such money. I
told them I could only afford N200,000, but they rejected it, saying it was too
small. Eventually, they insisted on N250,000 before releasing the vehicle,” he
said.
He claimed the officers directed him to withdraw the money
from a Point of Sale operator, after which the cash was collected.
“They took me to a POS where I withdrew
the N250,000 in cash. After collecting the money, they handed over my car key,”
he added.
was released in poor condition.
“As we were leaving, we discovered that
all the tyres were deflated and the battery had been removed. Everything was
down. As a law-abiding citizen, is this how police officers are supposed to
behave?” he queried.
Providing an update on Wednesday, the engineer said he
reported the matter to the Complaints Response Unit, which gave him the contact
details of the station officer. He, however, lamented that despite the
intervention, the money had yet to be refunded.
“I thought the CRU’s involvement would
lead to a refund, but it didn’t. When I went to the station today, they simply
asked me to leave,” he said.
Reacting to the allegation on Wednesday, the Lagos State
Police Command spokesperson, SP Abimbola Adebisi, confirmed the incident.
“The officers involved have been
identified and directed to report. They have also been instructed to refund the
money tomorrow,” she said.
The incident has renewed concerns over alleged police
misconduct in Lagos, with residents repeatedly accusing officers of extortion
during stop-and-search operations.
In a related development, a Lagos-based plumber, Nifemi
Oyerinde, recently accused policemen of extorting N70,000 from him at gunpoint
during a stop-and-search operation near the Otedola Bridge area of the state.
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