Sir,

Your Officers Have Commenced Their Criminal Activities Despite The ‘End Police Brutality And Extortion’ Protest.

My name is Citizen Ikenna Samuelson Iwuoha, a well known socio-political crusader in Nigeria, based in Owerri, Imo State. My nature as a socio-political crusader does not allow me to keep quiet when things are going wrong in my environment. As such, I have consistently been in the vanguard against criminality, drug abuse, cultism, corruption and other vices in the society. My record, to this effect, is there for all to see.

I humbly wish to bring to your attention the criminal activities of your officers attached to the Commissioner of Police Surveillance Unit (CP Surveillance Unit) of the Imo State Police Command. I am pained that despite the just-ended #endpoliceextortionandbrutalityprotest that shook the foundation of this country a few weeks ago, officers attached to your command have continued to bring bad name to the police, by engaging in criminal activities..

Mr Obinna Louis Alisigwe is a law-abiding Imo State citizen based in owerri. He runs à barber’s shop in the Ikenegbu Layout Extension axis of the state capital, along the Relief Market Road, Owerri, off Fish Island Avenue. He operates in a container-like shop. The landlord of the premises he operates his barbing business allowed him to function free of charge, and he has operated for two years. The landlord is not resident in Owerri.

Within this period, a certain police officer called Mr Ralph with telephone number 08037113459, who poses as a caretaker of another property close to where Mr Obinna Louis Alisigwe operates his business, has been extorting money (N24,000 yearly) from him as settlement rent. But three weeks ago, the original landlord was around, and he reinforced his directive that traders operating in makeshift containers on his property should not pay rent, and that he is comfortable with rents from his tenants on his imposing green two-storey building.

As soon as the landlord left town, the police officer (Mr Ralph), who poses as caretaker of a different property, stormed Mr Obinna Alisigwe’s salon and demanded tenancy-settlement levy.

Mr Obinna Louis Alisigwe, now emboldened by the landlord's directive, informed this police officer (Mr Ralph) that he would no longer pay him such illegal levies again, and that his landlord visited and had instructed that he should not pay again.

In carrying out his criminal enterprise, this police officer invited his comrades-in-extortion-and-criminal activities from the CP Surveillance Unit of the state police command and effected the arrest of Mr Obinna Louis Alisigwe, reportedly accusing him of armed robbery and kidnapping.

This happened two weeks ago. He was handcuffed, beaten up and humiliated at his office premises, before being bundled into the police van, and taken to their office at the Police Command, where he was further tortured, humiliated and detained till the following day.

The investigating police officer, one Inspector Onyemuluga Ukwuoma, with telephone number, 09092010862 extorted the sum of N25,000 from Mr Obinna Louis Alisigwe as bail money, before he was released. But, with the instruction to go and continue paying settlement rent to the police officer (Mr Ralph) or he would be re-arrested and charged to court for armed robbery and kidnapping cases, which will result to his remand in prison…. What a blackmail!

Mr Commissioner, sir, you can now see that your officers are criminals operating as policemen. These set of crooks are not worthy to be called policemen. They are, indeed, armed robbers, blackmailers and thieves in police uniform.

I am not taking this matter lightly. I am, therefore, demanding that you order the affected police officers to refund all that they have extorted and stolen from this law-abiding citizen, Mr Obinna Louis Alisigwe, without further delay.

This matter will be forwarded to the Force Headquarters and Police Service Commission for appropriate action against these armed robbers and extortionists in police uniform, operating in the CP Surveillance Unit of the Imo State Police Command.

Accept my surest regards.

•Citizen (Dr) Ikenna Samuelson Iwuoha, FCAI, MKDA, writes from Owerri.

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