An admission seeker identified as Sodiq Oladebo has accused members of the Nigeria Police Force of extorting N20,000 from him and other passengers.
The incident took place on Saturday when Oladebo and fellow travelers were en route from Osun to Benin, Edo State.
According to Oladebo, their vehicle was stopped at a checkpoint, and police officers proceeded to search their bags.
Despite finding nothing incriminating, the officers allegedly resorted to intimidation tactics, demanding a payment of N100,000 or threatening to take Oladebo to the police station.
Distressed by the situation, Oladebo explained that the N99,000 he had in his Palm Pay application was meant to purchase an Interim Joint Matriculation Board (IJMB) form required for his university admission.
Following a heated exchange with the police officers, a compromise was reached, and they settled for N20,000 from Oladebo.
The amount was immediately transferred to a Point-of-Sale operator named Delight Enterprise, as corroborated by a screenshot of the receipt bearing the transaction time of 11:34 am on Saturday.
Expressing his frustration, Oladebo revealed that the police officers responsible for the incident were four in number and were traveling in a black Hilux van.
Regrettably, his money is still in their possession despite the transaction.
In his words;
We left Old Garage Park in Osun State, and were going to Benin, Edo State. Our vehicle was stopped by the policemen. They checked the passenger at the front and later asked me to come down from the vehicle to identify my luggage.
“They searched and didn’t find anything incriminating. He took my phone from me, unlocked it but didn’t find anything incriminating on it. He returned my phone and said he would take me to the station except I pay N100,000. They had seen N99,000 in my Palm Pay application and my brother gave me the money to purchase the IJMB form.”
“I transferred the money to a Point-of-Sale operator whom the officers called to the location and they allowed me to go. The policemen were four and in a black Hilux van. My money is still with them.