Idowu Owohunwa, the Lagos Police Commissioner, has dismissed Tony Abutu, the Meiran Divisional Police Officer (DPO), and three other officers for allegedly extorting N200,000 from Ibrahim Saliu, a mobile phone engineer and dealer in the state, News About Nigeria reports.
The Lagos Police Department allegedly accused Abutu of supervisory incompetence and leadership dereliction. Abutu was removed from his position less than 24 hours after a report on Saliu’s accusations against the three policemen was released.
In a statement on Wednesday, the spokesperson of the Lagos State Police Command, Benjamin Hundeyin, detailed that the DPO was dismissed for leadership dereliction and supervisory ineptitude.
“CP Idowu Owohunwa has ordered the immediate removal of DPO Meiran for leadership dereliction and supervisory ineptitude,” a statement by Mr Hundeyin read.
In his statement, Mr Hundeyin stated that all the officers implicated have been identified and are now at the Command headquarters, where their orderly room trial has already begun.
Saliu, a phone trader, said that police officers at the Meiran police station had extorted N200,000 from him.
He explained that the incident arose from the police detaining him and his brother, Olaiya Murtala, for failing to produce an identity card or receipts for the iPhones that were discovered with his brother.
He claimed to have sent his brother to his shop with six iPhones, but the police stopped and searched him, taking him to the station.
To secure his brother’s release from custody, he rushed to the police station, where he was asked to provide his ID card and phone receipts, which were not available at the time, and was requested to pay the sum of N500,000, which he eventually negotiated down to N200,000.
