You know the country is doomed when a law enforcement officer blatantly (or for that matter even secretly) extort money from citizens. But surely it’s Armageddon when the policeman’s demand was for hard currency.
Apparently, the message is that the country’s currency value is below par, not worthy of security but that’s a topic for another time.
So, this policeman was caught on a video demanding money in hard currency from an unnamed person. The video was shared on social media by Twitter user @chairmanNHRC.
He writes: “The naira is no longer enough? This @PoliceNG Sergeant wants his extortion paid in $$$$ or… Just watch”
Understandably, users condemned the act. One user says the video was an “indictment of the government!”
Another says: “Surely this guy has to be sacked? This is disgraceful.”
Yet another tweets: “This is embarrassing to be on cam but it’s a normal thing with the Nigerian police”
A Twitter user, Mr Obaoye? @Touchek thinks sharing the video will assist in raising awareness on some of the corrupt practices in the police force. He says:
“The advantage lies in the fact that the more people see these videos, the more they’ll talk about it.
“The most corrupt person in Nigeria definitely does not want that tag.
“At some point, something will be done about it. Our task now is to continuously talk it and get people to do same.”
Replying to the tweet, Assistant Commissioner Abayomi Shogunle @YomiShogunle of the Public Complaint Rapid Response Unit did not deny the incident captioned in the video happened. He, however, noted that the incident happened in 2014 and the police officer who he identified as Cpl Aniyem Chiyem has since been sacked from the force.
His tweet:
“This is a 2014 video, the @PoliceNG responded to this in February 2014. Cpl Aniyem Chiyem was dismissed from service over this unprofessional conduct.
Kindly update your Tweet.”
While the information was lauded by some, some commenters also felt that the disgraced policeman should have been tried and jailed if found guilty. A user called the move to sack the policeman “reassuring“.
Watch the video of the policeman
The Naira is no longer enough? This @PoliceNG Sergeant wants his extortion paid in $$$$ or…. Just watch pic.twitter.com/CJey78CUt9
— RightsAfrica (@chairmanNHRC) December 10, 2017
And they say police is your friend. Nah run!
i remember dis story.
Shame. Story of my country