Fásípè detailed how the corps members were threatened by the officers and taken to Kafaru Oluwole Tinubu House at the Area C Police Command, where they were allegedly “robbed.” According to Fásípè, the extortion was triggered after one of the corps members failed to present a hard copy of his driver’s license.
One of the officers is seen asking the driver for his license, to which the driver responded that it was being renewed. The officer then requested the renewal documents, which the driver was unable to produce. A man in plain clothes, later identified as an officer, removed the vehicle’s number plate, leading to an argument. The corps members were then taken to the police station, where they were forbidden from using their mobile phones and warned they would need to write statements upon arrival.
The officers also accused the corps members of “impersonation,” claiming it was illegal to wear only the NYSC cap without the full uniform.
Fásípè’s tweet read: “Dear #BenHundeyin, your officers today in Surulere extorted one million naira from three corps members. They were threatened with firearms, kidnapped, and taken to the Kafaru Oluwole Tinubu House, Area C Police Command, where they were robbed. Their offence was not having a physical copy of a driver’s licence. This is evil!”
He further provided evidence, including transaction receipts and a voice note from one of the victims detailing how the money was extorted by a plain-clothes officer who allegedly acted on behalf of his superior.
In response to the allegations, the spokesperson for the Lagos State Police Command, Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed the officers had been summoned. “The men have been summoned, and their trial has commenced. We urge the complainants to visit the Complaint Response Unit at the state headquarters to testify at the ongoing trial,” Hundeyin tweeted on Friday.
The actions of the officers have been met with widespread condemnation on social media.