Police arrest three clerics for extortion

Three Islamic clerics have been seized by the Ogun State Police Command for allegedly extorting a guy by the name of Tola who purportedly asked them for special prayers.

The brother of one of the clergy, Sulaimon, Hamzat Hamed, however, asserted that Tola, who requested special prayers, was allegedly engaged in cybercrime and questioned why the police did not also jail him.

According to PUNCH Metro, Tola allegedly travelled to Bankole Estate, Gasline, Magboro in the state's Obafemi Owode Local Government Area with up to five suspected soldiers in order to arrest Hamzat.

The military officials asked that Hamzat deliver his brother Sulaimon after his detention last week. Hamzat claimed that he had followed the soldiers to their base in Ebute, in the Arepo neighbourhood of the local government region.

When the troops took Hamzat's car, he went to the Warewa Police Station and reported the incident.

He also attacked the military, alleging that it permitted citizens to employ its personnel.

Speaking further on Wednesday, Hamzat, who said he had got his vehicle back from the police, said, “Soldiers are following the guy (Tola) around. They did not detain him. I have produced my brother and the two other Alfas involved in the case.

“They have all been detained at the station. My brother has been there for about five days. If those people had done the wrong thing, what about this ‘Yahoo Boy’ (Tola)? He was still at the station yesterday (Tuesday) and they did nothing to him.”

The police just had a report that a man had been tricked and the people involved had been apprehended, according to a senior police officer at Warewa Police Station on Wednesday who is not licenced to speak to the media.

The officer said, “Soldiers only impounded his (Hamzat’s) vehicle and asked him to go and bring his brother, and when the case got to the police, we swung into action. His brother came and we released the vehicle to the owner while the case was under investigation.

“There is no complaint before me that somebody is a ‘Yahoo Boy’. We don’t have such a case. What I have is that somebody duped him and those boys have confessed that they indeed obtained money from him.”

When contacted, Omolola Odutola, the state police public relations officer, advised the family to exercise patience and said, "Investigations take time. Let them wait their turn.

However, Lt. Col. Olabisi Ayeni, the 81 Division of the Nigerian Army's spokesperson, indicated that attempts were being made to identify the allegedly responsible soldiers.

Source