JUST IN: Eight policemen arrested in Rivers for extortion, assault

The Rivers State Police Command has arrested four operatives who allegedly assaulted three men and extorted N6.5m from them.

 

The policemen were said to have arrested the men from Omoluwabi in the Ogba-Egbema-Ndoni Local Government Area of the state, tagged them Internet fraudsters and ferried them to Delta State where they reportedly collected the money from them after detaining them for two days.

 

It was learnt that the cops arrested the men on July 31, 2023, and released them on August 1, 2023.

 

The state Commissioner of Police, Emeka Nwonyi, while parading the policemen before journalists in Port Harcourt on Monday, said he was working hard to rid the command of bad eggs.

 

Nwonyi said, “You can see some police officers. They have been in detention for more than two weeks now for an offence. They are not from this command, but we arrested them to show that we are here to purge ourselves.

 

“I don’t think any other organisation has been more purgative like the police in cleaning up the bad eggs in their system and I want to be challenged on that.”

 

The police boss did not, however, reveal the identities of the policemen.

 

Similarly, Nwonyi paraded another set of four policemen, including three Inspectors, arrested for allegedly assaulting a female commuter.

 

He said the policemen were on a stop-and-search operation when they allegedly assaulted the lady around Arcania Junction, Ada George Road in Port Harcourt on Sunday.

 

He said, “Upon receipt of the complaint, the commander of the CP Monitoring Unit swung into action and identified the officers as men of an Anti-Cultism Unit on a stop-and-search led by Inspector

 

Agba Emmanuel, and three others namely Inspector Abgani Peter, Inspector Ozenewa Amadi and Sargeant Akuigbo Bartholomew.

 

“They have all been arrested and in custody undergoing interrogation.

 

“Also, I am appealing to the lady who was assaulted to come to my office and give us her side of the incident for proper investigation to be carried out.”