A 49-year-old phone repairer, Abdul-Hakeem Sekoni, has accused men of the Ajiwe Police Command, Ajah, Lagos State of unlawfully arresting, detaining and extorting money from him.

It was gathered that on November 23, 2023, around 8 pm, some policemen led by one Inspector Olatunji arrested Sekoni with handcuffs.

According to him, while on their way, the police inspector told him that a fellow engineer who was suspected of unlocking a stolen phone had mentioned him as an engineer in the area.

Sekoni said, “They arrested me because I am also an engineer, that I must have been involved in unlocking stolen phones.

“When we got to the station, they locked me up for eight days, from Thursday to the following Thursday.

“They said that the stolen phone that a fellow engineer unlocked cost N950,000 and there was $400 in the pouch, and so I have to share in paying the money even though the phone was stolen by another and unlocked by a colleague, not me.”

“When my sister, Rashidat, came for my bail, they changed the story, they told her that I connived with the thief to snatch the stolen phone.”

The Ekiti State-born man said his family paid a total of N520,000 before he was released by the police on November 30, 2023.

“The IPO said the other engineer had paid money and if I didn’t pay, they would charge me to court.

“For fear of being charged for a crime I did not commit, my family rallied around and paid N520.000 to the IPO.

“However, the IPO maintained that we would have to pay an additional N100,000 by the end of December or else he would charge me to court. 

“He said N120.000 was for my bail and N500.000 for charges. They didn’t care about any investigation to prove whether I was guilty or not, they just wanted to extort engineers like me even though we were not connected to the crime.”

The father of nine and two wives however lamented that he didn’t have any more money to pay.

Meanwhile, our correspondent also listened to an audio conversation in the Yoruba Language where the family was pleading with a man said to be the IPO to reduce the money for bail but he refused.

Our correspondent also saw a petition written by a human rights group, the iRCHRCE Foundation, regarding Sekoni’s complaints.

The petition, which was signed by the foundation’s Secretary General, Momoh Raimi, and addressed to the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, dated December 2, 2023, demanded an investigation into the “professional misconduct” of the cops.

The petition partly read, “Sir, we therefore humbly request that you use your good office to fully investigate this alleged professional misconduct of unlawful arrest, illegal detention, starvation, threat to life, extortion, conspiracy, demanding and collecting money for bail, and intimidation by Inspector Olatunji and his team.

“It is also our prayer that the Nigeria Police must be purged of corrupt officers.”

The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, when contacted, said he could not comment on the petition.

“This petition was addressed to the IGP, so I cannot comment on it.

“They should reach the Complaint Response Unit so that the matter can be looked into.

The Force Police Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi, did not respond to his calls nor did he reply to the text and WhatsApp messages sent to him as of the time of writing this story.