It sounded like another routine roadside shakedown in Nigeria’s capital – until the men demanding cash discovered, far too late, that the motorist they had cornered was none other than the country’s top anti-corruption chief.<\/p>\n
In a dramatic twist worthy of a crime thriller, four police officers have been arrested after allegedly extorting \u20a653,000 from the Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Dr. Musa Adamu Aliyu (SAN), during what authorities described as an illegal stop-and-search operation in Abuja.<\/p>\n
According to the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Commissioner of Police, Ahmed Sanusi, the officers abandoned their official duty posts, converged around the bustling Banex Junction in Wuse, and allegedly established an unauthorized checkpoint where motorists became easy prey.<\/p>\n
What they did not know was that one of those motorists was the very man whose commission investigates corruption across Nigeria.<\/p>\n
“Take Me to the POS”<\/strong><\/p>\n Police investigators say the officers allegedly escorted Dr. Aliyu to a Point-of-Sale (POS) operator, where he withdrew \u20a653,000, paid the transaction charges himself and handed over the cash.<\/p>\n The officers allegedly divided the proceeds among themselves before disappearing.<\/p>\n Speaking while briefing journalists, Commissioner Sanusi did not mince words.<\/p>\n “They are thieves. They are a gang of criminals who have no business wearing the police uniform.”<\/p>\n The police boss revealed that the officers were later declared wanted before investigators tracked down their alleged leader, whose confession reportedly led detectives to the remaining members of the group.<\/p>\n The Hunters Became the Hunted<\/strong><\/p>\n The irony has captivated many Nigerians.<\/p>\n For years, the ICPC has prosecuted public officials, recovered stolen public assets and led anti-corruption campaigns across government institutions. Only days before this incident, Dr. Aliyu had publicly urged stronger integrity systems and greater collaboration in the fight against corruption, while the commission has continued to prosecute graft-related offences nationwide.<\/p>\n This time, however, the nation’s chief corruption fighter became the victim.<\/p>\n The officers, apparently unaware of his identity, allegedly treated him like countless other motorists who have complained of illegal roadblocks and extortion in parts of the country.<\/p>\n Dismissal Looms<\/strong><\/p>\n Commissioner Sanusi said disciplinary proceedings have begun and promised severe sanctions.<\/p>\n “We got all of them,” he said.<\/p>\n “Those that are going to be dismissed will definitely be dismissed.”<\/p>\n The case has renewed concerns about police accountability, especially as the Nigeria Police Force continues reforms aimed at restoring public confidence.<\/p>\n No Phone Searches, Police Warn<\/strong><\/p>\n Using the incident to reinforce existing directives, Sanusi reminded officers that the Inspector-General of Police has prohibited indiscriminate searches of citizens’ mobile phones during patrols.<\/p>\n He urged members of the public to refuse unlawful phone searches and immediately report officers who violate the directive through police emergency channels.<\/p>\n “You cannot stop anybody on the road and ask the person to bring out his phone for search,” the commissioner warned.<\/p>\n A Lesson in Irony<\/strong><\/p>\n If there is one lesson from this extraordinary episode, it is that corruption can sometimes stumble into its own trap.<\/p>\n What began as an alleged roadside extortion ended with the alleged extortionists in police custody – not because they recognized their victim, but because they didn’t.<\/p>\n For four officers accused of turning an illegal checkpoint into a cash collection point, their biggest mistake may not have been demanding \u20a653,000.<\/p>\n It was choosing the wrong motorist.<\/p>\n And in one of Abuja’s most ironic crime stories of the year, the men who allegedly preyed on motorists found themselves under the spotlight of the very anti-corruption system they never saw coming.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It sounded like another routine roadside shakedown in Nigeria’s capital – until the men demanding cash discovered, far too late, that the motorist they had cornered was none other than the country’s top anti-corruption chief. In a dramatic twist worthy of a crime thriller, four police officers have been arrested after allegedly extorting \u20a653,000 from […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":97845,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[1244,8544,567,651,3702],"class_list":["post-99794","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","tag-aliyu","tag-caught","tag-commissioner","tag-extortion","tag-policemen"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99794","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=99794"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99794\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":99795,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99794\/revisions\/99795"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/97845"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=99794"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=99794"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=99794"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}