The Lagos State Police Command has launched a probe into allegations that some officers attached to the Area H Police Command in Ogudu extorted $2,000 (approximately N3.33 million) from a couple who were allegedly wrongfully arrested in December 2025.
The Command’s spokesperson, SP Abimbola Adebisi, confirmed the development in a post on X, stating that the officers implicated in the allegation have been identified and invited to the Command Headquarters for questioning.
She said, “The officers involved in the alleged extortion have been identified and brought to the Command Headquarters. The Commissioner of Police, CP Olohundare Jimoh, has directed the DC ‘A’ to oversee the investigation. The officers have given their statements, and we are awaiting the complainant to come forward to present his side of the story.”
The allegation gained public attention after details of the incident circulated on social media.
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According to a report by the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ), a friend of the affected couple, identified as Abiodun Alabi (not his real name), said the incident occurred in the early hours of December 18, 2025, while the couple was travelling out of Lagos.
Alabi alleged that the police officers stopped the couple, profiled the man, confiscated his mobile phones, and took both him and his wife to the Ogudu Police Station. He further claimed that the woman, who was reportedly pregnant at the time, was made to wait outside the station while her husband was taken in and forced to write a self-incriminating statement without access to legal counsel.
The officers were said to have initially demanded $5,000 in USDT but later reduced the amount to $2,000 after negotiations. The money was allegedly transferred to a digital wallet provided by the officers, who reportedly deleted evidence of the transaction afterward.
Alabi said he later petitioned the Police Complaints Response Unit (CRU), which referred him to the Station Officer at Area H Command, Olumide Jegede. A meeting was subsequently held at the station on December 23, during which the couple allegedly identified some of the officers involved.
During the meeting, Alabi claimed the officers attempted to defend their actions and later disclosed that the money had already been shared among several personnel. They were said to have offered a partial refund.
FIJ reported that N2.2 million has so far been refunded to the victims.
Efforts to reach the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer to confirm whether the complainant had formally reported at the Command Headquarters were unsuccessful as of the time of filing this report.
