Wednesday, January 7, 2026 - The Lagos State Police Command has commenced an investigation into allegations that officers attached to the Area H Police Command in Ogudu extorted $2,000 (about N3.33 million) from a couple who were allegedly wrongfully arrested in December 2025.
Confirming the development on X, the state Police Public
Relations Officer, Abimbola Adebisi, said the officers involved had been
identified and brought to the command headquarters for questioning.
She said, “The officers involved in the alleged extortion
have been identified and brought to the Command Headquarters. The Commissioner
of Police, Olohundare Jimoh, has directed the DC ‘A’ to oversee the
investigation. The officers have given their statements, and we are awaiting
the complainant to come forward to present his side of the story.”
The allegation gained public attention after details of the
incident surfaced on X. According to the Foundation for Investigative
Journalism, a friend of the couple, identified as Abiodun Alabi (not his real
name), said the incident occurred in the early hours of December 18, 2025,
while the couple was travelling out of Lagos.
Alabi alleged that police officers stopped the couple,
profiled the man, seized his phones, and took both him and his wife to the
Ogudu Police Station. He claimed the woman, who was pregnant at the time, was
made to sit outside while her husband was taken in and compelled to write an
incriminating statement without a lawyer present.
He further alleged that the officers initially demanded
$5,000 in USDT but later settled for $2,000 after negotiations. The money was
reportedly transferred to a wallet address provided by the officers, after
which all records of the transaction were allegedly deleted.
Alabi said he later petitioned the Police Complaints
Response Unit, which linked him to the Station Officer at Area H Command,
Olumide Jegede. A meeting was reportedly held at the station on December 23,
where the couple identified some of the officers involved.
During the meeting, Alabi alleged that the officers
attempted to justify their actions and later claimed the money had already been
shared among several personnel, after which they allegedly offered a partial
refund. FIJ reported that N2.2 million has so far been returned to the victims.
As of press time, calls placed to the Lagos State Police
Public Relations Officer to confirm whether the complainant had formally
reported at the command headquarters were unanswered.
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