Lagos Man Accuses Policemen of Extortion After ₦56,000 Roadside Ordeal

For one Lagos resident, a journey to work allegedly turned into a long ride through the city, a demand for money and a trip to a POS stand.

Nasir Ahmed has accused three men he identified as policemen of extorting ₦56,000 from him after stopping his vehicle on the Apapa-Oshodi Expressway.

The Lagos State Police Command has begun investigating the allegation, although it says it has not yet established a link between one of the persons identified by Ahmed and the police.

Ahmed said the incident happened on Thursday after he stopped at a filling station along the expressway and attempted to rejoin the road.

According to an account shared by his friend, Abdulqadr Hanzolah, the men allegedly blocked Ahmed’s vehicle in a police bus and accused him of driving against traffic.

The situation reportedly escalated when the men allegedly threatened to take him to Alausa, Ikeja. Ahmed claimed the officers initially demanded ₦500,000 before reducing the amount to ₦250,000.

The account said one of the men later instructed Ahmed to transfer ₦6,000 to an OPay account.

When another transfer failed because of network problems, he was allegedly taken to a POS stand in Ilupeju, where ₦50,000 was withdrawn from his account.

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Ahmed said he had to borrow money from friends to meet the demand. He later submitted details of the alleged transactions, the account numbers and a photograph of one of the men to the Lagos State Police Command’s Complaint Response Unit.

The command confirmed that it had received the complaint and was examining the evidence.

Police spokesperson Abimbola Adebisi said investigators had checked the photograph and one of the names supplied by Ahmed but had yet to establish a connection between the identified man and the police.

She stressed, however, that the absence of an established link did not mean the allegation had been dismissed.

The investigation remains ongoing.

For Lagos motorists, the case raises a familiar but serious question: where does legitimate traffic enforcement end and unlawful roadside extortion begin?

The answer in this case will depend on what the police investigation establishes.

ValidViewNetwork reports that the allegation remains an allegation, while the Lagos State Police Command continues its investigation.