The Lagos State police command have metted out disciplinary action against three of its operatives for illegally checking the phone of a National Youth Service Corps member, destroying his identity card, and wrongfully tagging him a fraudster, in a failed extortion attempt.

Spokesperson for the command, Abimbola Adebisi, in a post on X, said the errant officers and the victim, Charles Mbaogu, were earlier in the day, at the command headquaters, where all the details presented regarding the incident, were reviewed.

Mrs Abimbola said, “The officers involved have been identified and brought to the State Command Headquarters today. @devcharlezen also reported to the Command and provided the necessary details that aided the review process. Two (2) of the officers have been formally queried, while one (1) has been defaulted, in line with established disciplinary procedures.”

Narrating his experience, in a series of posts on X, on Sunday, Mr Mbaogu said he was on his way to Epe from Ikeja, with his girlfriend on Saturday, when the officers from Ladegboye Police Station, along Ijede Road, Ikorodu, stopped his vehicle, and asked for his documents and driver’s licence, which he tendered, including his first aid box.

Mr Mbaogu stated further that, “After confirming my documents were complete, he began asking personal questions, my tribe, state of origin, where I was coming from, and what I was doing in Lagos. I explained that I am a serving NYSC corps member. 

“He asked for my NYSC ID card. I provided it. He doubted it and ordered me to log into my NYSC portal to prove it. I did.

“He claimed he could not see my details clearly because of sunlight and asked me to open my car boot so he could check again. While I was still holding my phone, another officer called me. I told him I was speaking with his supervisor. The supervisor instructed me to answer him. 

“As I attempted to move, the supervisor grabbed my shirt, pulled me back, and forcefully snatched my phone from my hand. After going through my private chats without my notice and seeing a conversation with one of my work colleague (a programmer), he immediately labeled me a “Yahoo boy” (fraudster).”

He said the officers ordered him into their vehicle to go prove his innocence at the station but when he requested he drive his own vehicle, two officers dragged him into their vehicle, and drove him around for almost three hours to unknown locations, during which they stopped on three occasions specifically to force him to admit being a fraudster but he kept denying the allegation, which got them angrier.

He alleged further that, “At one point, the main officer claimed he saw money in my Bybit account and demanded that I send him 1,000 USD. I refused. 

“The pressure and intimidation continued. During this time, they also accessed my private documents and personal information, going through my chats and  files.

“They threatened to take me to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). I agreed immediately and repeatedly asked them to take me there if they believed I had committed any crime. Surprisingly, once I agreed, they refused and continued driving me around instead.”

He also alleged that his girlfriend whom another officer was driving in his own car, tried to contact him but they took her phone, adding that, “they threw away my NYSC cap and tore my NYSC ID card.”

“The main officer searched through all my phone and reviewed my personal properties. They questioned me aggressively, claiming that as a Software Engineer, I could not possibly have acquired all of these assets legitimately.

“After several hours, the officer driving my car rushed ahead to inform the others that my girlfriend had jumped out of the moving vehicle and was shouting for help. Only then did they decide to turn around and take me back to the main station near where I was initially stopped.”

At the station, Mr Mbaogu said officers interrogated him for two hours, called his colleagues at work and the CEO of a mobile application he was building, as well as also accused him of hacking the ATM card belonging to his colleague, who later explained that he personally sent him his card details during development because his card was not working and he needed to debug the issue.

“After confirming that I was not involved in fraud, they asked me to write a statement saying that everything was “settled.” I refused,” the victim also alleged that they searched him for drugs or weapons but found nothing.

“Only after the interrogation was completed did they return my belongings, including my torn NYSC ID card. They also disrespected the NYSC uniform, throwing away the NYSC cap and tearing the NYSC ID card.

“When I reunited with my girlfriend (she called with with a strangers phone because the police took her phone away from her), I saw she had a bruised leg from jumping out of the moving vehicle out of fear. 

“My car had visible scratches, back light repositioned, and unusual sounds coming from the roof and tyres, damage that was not there before this incident. For over six hours, they forcibly took my phone and my car, using both without my consent.

“I asked my girlfriend how the scratches happened. She explained that the officer driving my car had been driving recklessly trying to catch up with the other officers and scratched another car. This was another reason she doubted that they were genuine officers,” he narrated.