Michael Abattam, the public relations officer for the Imo State Police, confirmed this to reporters in Owerri.
The police officers are identified as follows: F/No. 462315 and Sgt. Ohakim Chibuzo, F/No. 505455, Sgt. From Finian, F/No. 505592, Sgt. George Osueke, F/No. 511966, Cpl. Kelechi Onuegbu, F/No. 512320, Cpl. Nagorno Isidore, F/No. 528165 Nwadike Stephen and F/No. 528156 PC Ihemtuge Plastidus, and F/A
The police stated that they were found guilty of flagrant disobedience to the Inspector-General of Police's directives on extortion and incivility to members of the public, as well as being found outside of their jurisdictional area.
According to the command, the alleged suspects have been indicted by the magistrate court in Owerri.
The police explained what transpired as follows: "In response to the deluge of reports and complaints by members of the public regarding police brutality, harassment, extortion, illegal phone checks, and flagrant disobedience to Inspector-General of Police directives on extortion and incivility to members of the public, the Imo State Police Command has dismissed and charged the following ex-policemen with crimes: For the offences of Discreditable Conduct, Corrupt Practices, and Leaving Beat, F/No. 462315 Sgt. Ohakim Chibuzo, F/No. 505455 Sgt. From Finian, F/No. 505592 Sgt. George Osueke, F/No. 511966 Cpl. Kelechi Onuegbu, F/No. 512320 Cpl.
"The ex-policemen were apprehended on November 8, 2022, at approximately 1300 hrs, in a bank in Umuahia, Abia State, while performing illegal duty outside their jurisdiction and conspiring to extort money from an innocent victim. They defaulted, were tried, and were found guilty of the charges levelled against them; as a result, they were summarily dismissed and charged with OW/746C/2022 before the Magistrate Court in Owerri.
"Therefore, the Commissioner of Police has ordered all Area Commanders, Heads of Departments (HODs), Divisional Police Officers (DPOs), and Tactical Teams Commanders of the various units in the Command to ensure that their subordinates are warned against engaging in these unethical practices, as any Police Officer found to be complicit will be subject to disciplinary action."
"Furthermore, he ordered the officers in charge of the Inspector-General of Police X-Squad Unit and the Commissioner of Police Monitoring Unit to begin high-level surveillance of police officers within and outside the city to prevent any unprofessional conduct by police officers." "He warned officers and men to be professional and adhere to international standards and best practices while performing their duties," the police said.
