Police officers from the notorious Eagle Crack squad have allegedly extorted the sum of N150 thousand from some students of the University of Port Harcourt in the Rumualogu area of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area.
The students said the officers who accosted them when they went to buy food on Tuesday last week, accused them of being internet fraudsters and forced them to withdraw money from automated teller machines.
They also said that the officer collected another tranche of the money through bank transfers.
The Rivers State police command had recently turned the former operational base of the defunct Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS, into the operational base of the E-Crack squad.
Police sources said operatives of the disbanded SARS were overnight, turned into operatives of the E-Crack squad.
The university students alleged that the officers threatened to use machetes on them if they failed to comply. The students said one of the officers left his phone in their car.
However, reacting to the development, Nnamdi Omoni, the public relations officer of the command, said the officers have been identified.
He added that they will be arrested and made to face the music.
