READ GRAPHIC DETAILS HOW ABUJA POLICEMEN ABDUCTED TWO LADIES FROM A GARDEN AND FORCED THEM TO PART AWAY WITH 300,000 NAIRA

Policemen attached to the Asokoro police division in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, have extorted N300,000 from two women they snatched from Millennium Park in Maitama on Wednesday.

Favour Ahgu, one of the victims, told FIJ her friend got into the city, and they decided to relax at the park with food and drinks, but things took a sour turn when policemen raided the area at about 4 pm.

The police first approached a gathering of men who were smoking in public — a constitutional violation — and rounded them up.

“Two men in mufti then walked towards us,” Ahgu told FIJ.

“One of them paused when they got to our mat and said to his partner, ‘Why are you leaving these ones? Are they not part of them?’ All we had was a bottle of wine, which we were drinking.

“Things escalated quickly when one of them cuffed us, snatched our phones and made us pack up and carry our bags. One policeman said we should pay N500,000 so we don’t get to the station.”

Ahgu further narrated that when she quizzed the policemen about why they were taking her and her friend away, the police said they had committed a crime by being in the vicinity of people smoking narcotics.

The girls attempted to explain that they did not take any narcotics, but the police insisted. When they arrived at the station, the police initiated a round of negotiations.

There were seven detainees in total. Each person had a different policeman assigned to take their statements.

“They told us to provide evidence that exonerates us,” Ahgu told FIJ. “But we had no way to prove a negative, so the police said they would figure it out. Soon after, they were demanding N400,000. The police took our pictures and threatened to put us in a cell if we did not pay.

“One of them came to us after we said we could pay N300,000. His name is Usman Abushieye. I transferred N100,000 to his Opay account, then my friend went to a PoS operator to withdraw N200,000.”

After paying, the police made them sign a bail form and then go see a senior policeman they believed to be the DPO. He identified himself as Peter.

Ahgu said, “He read us an entire sermon on how smoking was terrible, and I insisted we did not smoke. This got him agitated. We apologised and he asked us to leave. I think they took N200,000 each from the people who smoked.”

On Saturday, FIJ called the number linked to Abushieye’s Opay account, but his brother picked up the call. This brother said he would inform the policeman of the call.

On Monday morning, Abushieye used a different number to call Ahgu and ask if she had reported him to the press. FIJ then called him via this other number. During this call, he claimed he had no knowledge of any money paid.

Abushieye also claimed the police filmed the ladies smoking and engaging in lesbianism. When FIJ asked him to prove these claims, he told the journalist to come to his station.

FIJ called Josephine Adeh, the Abuja Police Public Relations Officer, but her number was unreachable. As of press time, she had not responded to text messages sent to her.

The Police Complaints Response Unit (CRU) promised to investigate the incident and told FIJ they were speaking with the DPO.