Lagos CP orders removal of DPO over alleged extortion

The Lagos State Police Commissioner of Police, Idowu Owohunwa, has ordered the immediate removal of the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of the Meiran Police Station in Okokomaiko over alleged extortion.

The removal of the DPO came following a report by one Ibrahim Saliu who claimed that some policemen attached to the Meiran Police Station extorted the sum of N200,000 from him on Saturday.

Saliu, an engineer, said the officers and the DPO threatened to jail his brother should they fail to provide receipts for the phones seen with Saliu’s brother.

He said: “The DPO took our iPhones, removed the warranty stickers, and declared that my brother and I are thieves and armed robbers.

“The next thing I heard was the DPO giving them an order to detain us and that we would be locked up for stealing and armed robbery. We were surprised that we started begging.”

READ ALSO: Lagos CP orders continued patrol to maintain law, order

The complainant added that he was asked to make a N500,000 payment to secure their freedom but after negotiations, the police agreed to take N200,000.

The spokesman for the state police command, Benjamin Hundeyin, who confirmed the removal of the DPO in a statement on his verified X platform, formerly Twitter, said apart from the senior officer, all the operatives involved have been identified and are currently undergoing orderly room trial.

He wrote: “CP Idowu Owohunwa has ordered the immediate removal of DPO Meiran for leadership dereliction and supervisory ineptitude.

“Meanwhile, all the officers involved have been identified and are currently at the Command headquarters where their orderly room trial has commenced.”

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