The Rivers State Police Command has paraded eight officers over alleged extortion and assault on Rivers citizens.
They were paraded before journalists on Monday.
The state Commissioner of Police, Emeka Nwonyi, while parading the policemen before journalists in Port Harcourt on Monday, said four among the operatives were those who allegedly assaulted three men and extorted N6.5m from them.
The policemen were said to have arrested the men 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 gathered that the cops arrested the men on July 31, 2023, and released them on August 1, 2023.
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 reveal the identities of the policemen.
The other set of four policemen paraded by CP Nwonyi includes 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 Agbani Peter, Inspector Ozenewa Amadi and Sergeant 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.”
The commissioner of police while giving account of other successes recorded stated that as a follow-up to the kidnapping and release of one victim named withheld on 29/08/2023 at about 1830hrs, the Operatives of the Command arrested one Henry Thomas ‘m’, aged 40yrs, a native of Akinima in Ahoada-West Local Government Area of Rivers State.
“During interrogation, he confessed to the crime and later led operatives to Akinima Community on 30/08/2023 at about 0400hrs where their operational vehicle, a Toyota Sienna car with Reg. No. MUS 606 AR, two pump action guns with breaches No. 23-0411 and 2h21yt-28, respectively, 20 rounds of LAR ammunition, 25 rounds of AK47 ammunition, and six cartridges were recovered from him.
“An effort is ongoing to arrest other members of the dreaded syndicate and recover more of their operational weapons.
Also, the CP said in a follow-up to the death of a cultists/kidnappers, police operatives of the command on 30/08/2023 arrested one Godspower Salete ‘m’ at Rumodogo at about 1424hrs and one Temple Emmanuel Woke ‘M’ of Rumuodogo-1 in Emohua Local Government Area of Rivers State in connection to the crime.
“The two suspects led a team of Policemen to Rumuodogo Forest for the recovery of their arms. During the process, their gang members engaged the police in a gun battle, and in the process, the two suspects were fatally wounded while others escaped with bullet wounds.
One AK49 rifle with breach no. Ek3911 and six magazines with twenty rounds of 7.62mm ammunition were recovered.
“The corpses have been deposited at De-light Mortuary, Ogbakiri, for autopsy, while intensive efforts are ongoing to arrest the fleeing suspects and recover more of their operational weapons.
