How police extorted, dehumanised bizman for months on oblivious allegations

Direct your complaint to IGP, force spokesman tells victim In an attempt to exchange N168 millon into dollars, a Lagos-based businessman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Fitilah Global Entertainment Limited, Adeshina Adelani Adekanmbi, said he became a victim of extortion and police brutality. By Dalhatu Liman & Idowu Isamotu  His ordeal in the hands […]

• Direct your complaint to IGP, force spokesman tells victim

In an attempt to exchange N168 millon into dollars, a Lagos-based businessman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Fitilah Global Entertainment Limited, Adeshina Adelani Adekanmbi, said he became a victim of extortion and police brutality.

By Dalhatu Liman & Idowu Isamotu 

His ordeal in the hands of the police began on November 10, 2021, when three officers from the Intelligence Response Team (IRT) in Lagos accosted him.  

Adekanmbi said, “One of the officers brought out a pistol while  another brought out handcuffs. They held me by my jeans and started beating me in the mid of my friends. They later drove me away in handcuffs to their office at GRA, Ikeja, Lagos.”     

He said even before reaching the IRT office, a policeman, one Yemi, punched him severally. 

Thereafter, he said the police made phone calls after which three men arrived in a car and he was asked to board the car.   

He explained that, “One of them identified himself as Oseni Mohammed Auyo and showed me my Facebook status picture, asking if I was the one. I nodded because I was too weak to talk due to the beating.    

“Then he asked if I was Fitilah and I nodded again. He then asked about the N168m paid into my account. I then realised where the issue came from.’’   

How dollar exchange ignited my torture

Adekanmbi explained that in October, 2021, his Bureau de Change (BDC) friend in Lagos, Alhaji Mohammed Galadima, called to link him with a customer for dollar exchange, having agreed on N570/580 to a dollar.  

 “I told him I would contact a friend in Abuja to see if he had some to sell. I made a call to the friend in Abuja, Alhaji Auwal, who agreed to sell at N570/dollar.       

“The following day, at about 7am, Galadima called me and said one of his customers needed between $250,000 and $300,000. That same morning I put a call to Alhaji Auwal and he said he had dollars and would sell at N570/dollar and that I should put N10 on every dollar as my commission.      

“Galadima agreed to the N580/dollar and requested my account details. About 30 minutes later, I received alert in four tranches totalling N168m and he confirmed sending the amount.

“I moved to the First City Monument Bank (FCMB), Ogba branch, and  transferred the N160m in two tranches to Alhaji Auwal’s FCMB account and he confirmed receipt.   

“Also, I transferred N5,505,000 to a First Bank account sent to me by Alhaji Galadima.

“After all the transactions in the bank, I headed to the airport with two of Alhaji Galadima’s boys and we  went to Alhaji Auwal’s office at Zone 4 in Abuja at 9pm. I called a friend, Dr Roy Nduku, to witness the handover of the dollars to Galadima’s boys,” he explained.      

 He said the boys left Abuja for Lagos immediately after counting and confirming the dollars, and that the following day he called Galadima who confirmed that he had received the money.      

Extortion, torture and detention

Adekanmbi told our reporter that from November 11 to 16, 2021, he was detained at the Alagbon police station in Ikoyi, and that on getting there the IRT men handed him over to one Inspector Gbenga Daniel who gave him a punch on his right eye and handcuffed him from the back.

“The inspector dragged me inside the station to the anti-fraud unit and took me to the statement room where I was tortured while asking me where I kept the N168m.  

“At about 2am, Inspector Daniel removed the handcuffs from the back and brought them to the front for me to be able to write a statement. While writing my statement I received several slaps from him. 

“The following morning, Inspector Daniel handed me over to an officer called Emma who took me before other senior officers after which I was detained in a cell,’’ he explained.   

He said on November 16, he was flown from Lagos to Abuja by one CSP Sunday Oladimeji who he described as the only officer who handled him with civility.  

“On entering the Force Headquarters, at the IGP Monitoring Unit, we met ASP Bala Abdullahi with one Inspector Reuben Noah and other officers and the complainant, Oseni Mohammed Auyo, alongside two others. I was later taken to ACP Ibrahim Musa Miringa who is the head of the IG Monitoring Unit.

“The ACP asked me what happened and I explained in brief with details. He asked if I could take them to where I bought the dollars from in Wuse Zone 4. He instructed ASP Bala to go with his men to arrest Alhaji Auwal. After the arrest, we were taken back to FCID and interrogated again by ACP Miringa. I, Auwal and his partner were detained at the Maitama police station,” Adekanmbi explained.       

He said that at the Maitama police station, Inspector Noah gave instruction to the policemen that he should not be allowed to make any call and that no one should be allowed to visit him or bring in money for his feeding.

“I had to beg from the people in the cell who assisted me in feeding. I was at the Maitama police station for three months, from November 16, 2021, to January 2, 2022,” he explained.

He said after spending four months in detention at the Maitama police station, the police charged him to court on a four-count charge. 

He noted that prior to that, Inspector Noah and Abdullahi had from November 14, 2021, on several occasions sought and got a 14-day remand order from a magistrates’ court at Mararraba in Nasarawa State. 

“At the expiration of the 14 days, they went to another court and obtained another remand order for another 14 days without the notice of the first magistrate.  I was not taken to court until March 24, 2022, when I was arraigned before Hon Justice Eguwatu of Court 9, Federal High Court, Abuja,” he explained.

He said he and his co-accused pleaded not guilty to the charges and were granted bail but remanded in the Kuje correctional facility until two months after he perfected the bail conditions.

However, on their second appearance before Justice Eguwatu on March 24, the case was adjourned to May 31, for trial but the court couldn’t sit due to his lawyer’s absence and it was adjourned to October 12 and 13, he explained.   

Adekanmbi alleged that Inspector Noah and ASP Abdullahi, while moving him to Lagos for further investigation, collected N450,000 from his wife at the Area F police station, Lagos, claiming that the money was for his flight, accommodation and feeding.   

“Also, while in Lagos they collected N3m from a civic centre, which was the money I paid to the centre for my event scheduled to hold on January 2, 2022. They also collected N400,000 from Excellence Hotel, Aguda, Ogba, Lagos, that I paid to the hotel for the launching of a music album. Again, they collected N300,000 from Alhaji Abass Akande Obesere, a popular Fuji music artiste, who was to perform at the concert.

“ASP Abdullahi turned my wristwatch worth N135,000 to his personal use and refused to return my phones, a Tecno Pova and two other Tecno phones, and a power bank worth N165,000 to me even after being granted bail and set free from their custody,’’ he said. 

He further said that he had already filed a suit against the police to enforce his fundamental human rights before his arraignment at the Federal High Court, Abuja.   

Police react

When contacted, the police directed the victims to formally write to the Inspector General of Police (IGP).      

The force spokesman, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, told our correspondent that such issue could only be addressed based on formal complaint from the victims.      

‘‘Let him write to the IGP. If they are dealing with us at this level, they should write formally. The IG’s office is not a divisional headquarters or area command headquarters,’’ Adejobi, a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP), said.      

He added that, “If they are talking about the IG’s monitoring team, they are definitely being supervised by the IGP’s secretariat. So, if he has any issue he should inform us by writing an official letter to the IG and he can copy the office of the Force Public Relations Officer (FPRO).      

‘‘We will then look into his matter. He has a right to complain if his rights have been infringed upon. At the same time, we just need to access the facts, assess the issue and deduce whatever we want to deduce. If it is true that the operatives have done that, it is quite unfortunate.’’