Quick Reads
- Who: Four Nigeria Police officers attached to the FCT Command
- What: Arrested for extorting money from the ICPC chairman at an unauthorised checkpoint
- Where: Banex area, Wuse, Abuja
- When: Disclosed Monday, July 20, 2026
- Amount involved: N53,000
- Victim: Dr Musa Aliyu (SAN), Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC)
Four police officers are in custody after allegedly extorting the chairman of Nigeria’s anti-corruption agency, the ICPC, during an unauthorised roadside stop in Abuja.
FCT Commissioner of Police, Ahmed Sanusi, briefed journalists on Monday, saying the officers had no business wearing the police uniform and behaved like common thieves. According to him, the officers abandoned their assigned duty posts, grouped together, and set up an illegal checkpoint around the Banex area of Wuse district.
Sanusi said the group intercepted Dr Musa Aliyu, the ICPC chairman, without realising his identity or standing, and pressured him into withdrawing cash. The chairman was reportedly made to withdraw the money through a nearby POS operator, and even had to cover the transaction fee, before the officers shared the proceeds among themselves.
The commissioner said investigations traced the officers back to different police divisions in the FCT, describing them as a loosely formed gang that convened specifically to extort motorists before dispersing. Once declared wanted, the command tracked down the alleged ringleader, whose cooperation led investigators to the rest of the group.
Sanusi said the suspects would face internal disciplinary proceedings, with dismissal likely for those found culpable, alongside possible criminal prosecution.
The arrest comes amid a renewed police crackdown on extortion and unauthorised checks, particularly the search of citizens’ phones on the road, a practice the Inspector-General of Police has explicitly banned. Sanusi urged residents to refuse such demands and to report any officer who tries to search a phone without cause via the police emergency line, adding that his command intends to enforce the directive.
