Five Nigeria Police Force inspectors have been stripped-off for being involved in acts of armed robbery, kidnapping, and extortion in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
Further details indicated that three other officers are being charged to court over allegations of similar offences.
This development was disclosed during the parade of the officers on Thursday at the headquarters of Rivers State Police Command, located in Moscow Road, Port Harcourt, by the Force Public Relations Officer, Deputy Commissioner of Police, DCP Anthony Placid.
Placid said the arrests came after investigations conducted on various complaints made against the officers about their conspiracy, armed robbery, kidnapping, stealing, extortion and abuse of office in Rivers State and across the country.
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As revealed by the Deputy Commissioner of Police, three of the suspects attached to Zone 16 Headquarters, Yenagoa, have been apprehended for the alleged act of abducting and robbing one Festus Saturday.
The identified officers involved are Inspectors Ayanniyi Jelil, Durojaye Francis and Olayemi Titus, who were said to be members of an illegal patrol team operating along Igbo Etche Road, Port Harcourt.
According to the police, the officers allegedly stopped the victim and his cousin during a stop and search operation in November 2025 and assaulted them, compelling them to unlock their phones, and accessing their banking and cryptocurrency apps.
It is also reported that the suspects allegedly abducted the victims to another unknown place and stole ₦4.5 million from the Opay app and $1,742 from the cryptocurrency wallet of the victims.
According to Placid, investigations conducted by the police have showed that N7.3 million was stolen from the victims.
He further mentioned that investigations also revealed that the officers were involved in the activities of an illegal extortion syndicate, and there were three more officers involved in this case but who are now at large.
The retrieved exhibits in the case include three Toyota Sienna buses and ₦7.3 million.
The police spokesperson, the suspects used AK-47 rifles for the operations and also committed similar crimes against several other residents in Rivers State.
However, Revelation Agent noted that the three officers are facing disciplinary action and will soon appear in court, while efforts are on to apprehend the fleeing suspects.
In another incident, five police officers under the Operations Department of Rivers State Police Command were sacked following investigations that linked the officers to accusations of armed robbery, kidnapping, extortion, and corrupt practices.
The fired officers were reported to be Inspectors John Okoi, Eyibo Asuquo, Udo Ndipmong, Bright Nwachukwu, and Anele Ikechukwu.
According to Revelation Agent reports, the case arose after petitions sent to the authorities by Behind Bars Human Rights Foundation in connection with complaints from some victims, who claimed that the officers engaged in abduction and extortion of unsuspecting members of the public through illegal patrols within and around Port Harcourt.
From reports of investigation, it appeared that the officers habitually confiscated the victims’ phones, collected their bank information, and forcefully transferred funds from bank and crypto wallets.
Victim, Felix Favour reportedly had $4,000 transferred from his crypto wallet and ₦940,000 taken from his bank account after being kidnapped at Aba Road.
Victim, Okparaocha David Ugochukwu had ₦1.3 million, jewelry, and a watch worth more than ₦6 million stolen from him.
In addition, police maintained that the officers misrepresented themselves as operatives of Zone 16 Headquarters in order to instill fear on the victims and evade detection.
According to Placid, the officers involved were disciplined via orderly room procedure and sacked from the force, and their case file was referred for prosecution.
He assured the citizens that the actions taken by the officers were not representative of the standards expected by the Nigeria Police Force, adding that the institution is dedicated to safeguarding citizens’ rights.
