Lagos Police Probe Tactical Squad Officers Over Alleged N3M Extortion

Official inquiry into claims that members of the Onikan Police Station Tactical Squad tried to extort N3 million from a resident at gunpoint has been opened by the Lagos State Police Command.

Boluwatife (@Tife_badass), the complaint on X (previously Twitter), claimed that the incident happened at around 1 a.m. on Thursday while he and a companion were traveling from Lekki to Victoria Island for an artist’s gig.

About five armed officers reportedly stopped Boluwatife close to the Lekki–Ikoyi Link Bridge roundabout, according to a thorough social media account.

He claims that after cocking their guns, the officers dragged him out of the driver’s seat and accused him of murdering Lekki police officers.

While policemen drove his car separately, he claimed that he and his friend were handcuffed, put in a police Hilux van, and driven to the station.

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In order to prepare for his imprisonment, he claimed that police at the Onikan Police Station told him to take off his shirt, shoes, and socks. Despite searching his paperwork and automobile, they supposedly found nothing that would implicate him.

“They demanded N3 million two hours later,” he wrote. “I declined, and they lowered it to N500,000 following further persuasion. My phone was returned, and I immediately called my people to ask for assistance. I was fortunately saved.

Additionally, Boluwatife claimed that when he refused to comply, the officers threatened to shoot him several times and even painted him as a cultist and fraudster.

“What about the average person who has nothing? I’m not shaken. They spoke to me about a variety of topics. The fact that ten police officers are threatening you without cause is absurd,” he added.

CSP Benjamin Hundeyin, the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, responded to the accusations on Thursday by saying on X that a thorough inquiry had been ordered by the state’s police leadership.

“The State Criminal Investigation Department’s Deputy Commissioner of Police, SCID, has been instructed to look into the complaint by Commissioner of Police CP Olohundare Jimoh, who has called all of the officers to the Command Headquarters in Ikeja. Hundeyin promised to keep the public informed of the outcome.