Nigeria Police Force Public Relations Officer, ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, has urged Nigerians to play their part instead of tagging him and the Force on social media to complain about police extortion at checkpoints.
Adejobi gave the warning in a post on X while reacting to a complaint by an X user who lamented their experience during a road trip from Abuja to the South-East region.
The X user alleged that police personnel extorted motorists heavily and delayed those who refused to give money to them.
The X user, @grandmasta_01, posted, “A road trip from Abuja to the SE leaves one in awe of the misdemeanors of your men and officers against motorists. The extortion are mindless.
“They are reckless in extorting motorists. Our vehicle dropped money at every checkpoint or you risk being parked for a long time.”
Also, another user, @kingmanuel700, posting evidence of N25,000 alleged extorted from him by officers of the Nigeria Police Force in Edo State, wrote, “Help me tag @Princemoye1 I still got extorted too cause I was a victim even when I showed them my NYSC Id card.”
However, reacting to the complaints, the police spokesperson said Nigerians should refuse to bribe police personnel instead tagging him and the NPF after giving money to the police.
According to him, they should rather choose to be delayed in their journeys than give bribes to police officers at checkpoints and then resort to tagging him and the police authorities on social media.
He said, “We all need to play our role to curb the menace of extortion. This matter has been addressed severally.
“It’s better to be delayed at their points than to dignify corruption or extortion. Why was your vehicle dropping money at every point?
“Even you, with your comment here, you are educated. What did you do to discourage that?
“Let’s act wise and be patriotic. Not to just come here and be tagging pricemoye1 or NPF.”
The Force spokesperson’s warning comes amid public outcry of police extortion and brutality against unsuspecting Nigerians and motorists in South-East Nigeria and across the country.
In August, SaharaReporters reported how students of the Ebonyi State University (EBSU) expressed concerns over alleged police extortion, harassment, and intimidation in Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital and its surrounding areas in the South-East.
The students noted that the actions by the police had become a significant source of distress.
They argued that it was troubling to see the police engaging in behaviours that undermined their constitutional roles.
They described the situation as “worrisome” and “unbecoming,” stressing that the police actions are a stark deviation from their duty to ensure public safety.
