Uchenna Ejike, a data analyst, has narrated how policemen in Enugu State extorted N100,000 from him on Monday.
Tweeting via his handle @iam_Uchenna, Ejike said, “So police stopped me on the road and collected N100,000 from me because I had my laptop and I didn’t bring the receipt.”
so police stopped me on the road and collected 100k from me because i had my laptop and i didn’t bring the receipt— Splendor (@iam_Uchenna) October 16, 2023
In a separate tweet, he narrated his experience in the hands of the policemen.
When FIJ reached out to him on Tuesday, he told us the policemen stopped a bus he boarded on Monday morning and asked the driver to leave him with them.
“They searched my phone and went through every chat I had,” Ejike told FIJ. “They didn’t see anything incriminating. Then they moved to search my bag and laptop bag. They saw the laptop and asked for its receipt. I said it was at home.
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“I asked them for my phone to call for the receipt but they already seized both of my phones.”
Ejike said the policemen accused him of being a criminal after finding two SIM cards with him.
“They saw two SIM cards I normally use for my Wi-Fi and said that in Enugu State, it is illegal to have multiple SIM cards in my bags just like that. They said I must be using it [sic] for something fishy.
“The policemen asked me to follow them to their station, but soon as we started going, they began telling me to settle them or they would take me to the cybercrime unit in Enugu. They also left the road and started moving into a bushy area.”
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He narrated that he was scared when the police began to veer off the road and into an unknown area.
“I was thinking of my life and how bad things could go from good to worse. They said they would beat me first and starve me for a full day before they started entertaining any calls or whatever for me. I had to give in to their demands because they all had guns.
“They first said I should bring N800,000. We argued until they agreed for me to pay N100,000. They drove me to a PoS shop, parked and asked me to go withdraw the money and return, which I did and then they stopped another bus for me to enter.”
Ejike’s debit receipt
Ejike said he was traumatised by the ordeal.
On Tuesday, FIJ called Daniel Ekea, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of the Enugu State Police Command, for comments. Ekea asked that we send him a text message. We texted and sent details of the case, but as of press time, he was yet to respond.
Ojukwu is a reporter with FIJ in partnership with Report for the World, which matches local newsrooms with talented emerging journalists to report on under-covered issues around the globe.
The post For Not Having Laptop Receipt, Enugu Police ‘Abduct’ Man, Force N100,000 Out of Him appeared first on Foundation For Investigative Journalism.