Lagos police dismiss sergeant over N98,000 extortion

Sergeant Ekpo Shimuyere of the Sogunle Division has been fired by the Lagos State Police Command for extorting N98,000 from a young guy.

SP Benjamin Hundeyin, the spokesperson for the Lagos State Police Command, revealed on Wednesday that Shimuyere had been fired and stripped of his uniform by the command's Provost Department for extorting N98,000 from a young man.

The young man's phone was reportedly taken by Shimuyere, who then utilized a POS operator to transfer N98,000 of the N100,000 in the young man's bank account. According to Hundeyin, the policeman's actions were against professional ethics.

“Police got the complaint from the victim and the officer denied the crime when he was contacted. The command placed him under detention so that he will not tamper with the evidence.

“We wrote to his bank and obtained his statement of account. We were able to trace the money to where the POS operator transferred it before transferring the money to the officer’s account.

“We followed due process to get his account. The victim was invited in the course of investigation, and he testified.

“The POS operator was also invited, and he said the officer requested him to transfer the money from the victim’s account to another one,” Hudenyi added.

Shimuyere, according to Hundeyin, was subjected to a legal Orderly Room trial. After reviewing the case, Mr. Idowu Owohunwa, Commissioner of Police for the Lagos Command, recommended the punishment of the officer with Force No. 461654, assigned to the Sogunle Police Division, being fired from the force.

Hundeyin highlighted that the firing was intended to dissuade others and cautioned officers and men against corruption. Additionally, he issued a warning that the command would keep punishing police officers who act improperly.

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