Two Police Officers Arrested For Stealing $5000, N1.350m From Lagosians

The Lagos State Command of the Nigeria Police Force is currently investigating two personnel who allegedly tortured and stole over a million Naira and US dollars from civilians in the commercial city.

The suspects reportedly collected the sum of N1.350 million naira from two young men through different Point of Sale machines (POS)  while they also whisked away in cash the sum of $5000 from an auto spare parts dealer during an unwarranted raid in Lagos.

Naija News learnt that the two suspects had posed as police officers from Force Investigation Bureau, FIB, and Special Tactical Squad, STS, at the Force Headquarters, Abuja to carry out their illegal raids.

The victims, Fatai Showumi Shina, a spare parts dealer and Samuel Toyosi told the force that the suspects invaded their home at No. 15, Oseyintola Street, Ifako-Ijaiye in Agege, Lagos around 111.30 pm on July 15th, 2022 with seven heavily armed men dressed in jackets inscribed with the letter FIB-STS.

According to them, the officers tortured them, destroyed their properties and seized $5000 found in their drawers. They said the suspects claimed they came to investigate them for a kidnapping incident.

“Immediately the men, some of them were in mufti, were made to enter the apartment, they started slapping and kicking us for keeping them outside for a long time,” Vanguard quoted the victims as saying.

The officers according to the victims later identified themselves as Police officers from the Force Headquarters on Investigation and therefore, wished to search the apartment.

It was gathered that the bewildered occupants of the apartment who initially thought they were armed robbers then demanded their search warrant but again, that was said to have been greeted with more severe slapping and beating.

The furious officers reportedly shoved the occupants aside, turned the apartment upside down, damaged some furniture and in the process discovered $5,000 US dollars in a wardrobe which they quickly took.

The victims said that after turning their apartment upside down without discovering any incriminating documents, the officers hauled the occupants into separate waiting vehicles having seized their phones and going along with them in their car.

The victims explained further that “On the road, they said they were taken us to Area B Command, Apapa for further interrogation before being flown to Abuja the next day. First, they took us to the front of Red House Police Station, Iju where we were mercilessly tortured. They left again to the front of Meran Police Station where the beating continued until we were forced to disclose our account details.

“Having discovered N1.7m in Fatai’s account, the officers told him to give them his ATM pin with which they withdrew ₦1,350,000.00 using different POS machines.”

One of the victims, Naija News learnt was able to get the name of their leader while he was browsing during the torture. They reportedly googled it later and got his picture and called a top police officer related to them in Abuja who directed them to the Lagos state police commissioner who advised that a petition should be written to IGP.

The victims said they wrote the petition but later called Lagos Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin who swung into action and informed the DPO in Iju and he drafted policemen to their hideout where the two suspects were arrested.

Two of them including the gang leader who happened to be a serving Police officer were arrested while four others are still on the run. Assorted weapons were reportedly recovered from them.

Police sources confirmed to newsmen that the second suspect is a dismissed policeman.

They are said to be a gang of notorious robbers that have been operating in different parts of Lagos and beyond for a long and have been on Police searchlight, Naija News learnt.

The state Police spokesman confirmed that the two suspects are in custody and that investigation was still in progress.