Police quiz cop caught demanding ₦10,000 bribe

Punch: The Anambra State Police Command on Wednesday said it had begun questioning the policeman attached to one of its divisions in Onitsha, caught on video demanding a bribe of ₦10,000 from a motorist.

The state conmmand’s Police Public Relations Officer, Emeka Chukwuemeka, who spoke with our correspondent on the telephone, said the outcome of the investigation would be made public as soon as it was concluded.

Chukwuemeka, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, said the manner the video was shot made it easy for the authorities to identify the policeman in question.

The police spokesman, who assured members of the public that the policeman would be made to face the full wrath of the law if found guilty, said the police would not condone any acts of corruption.

He said, “His identity was clearly revealed in the video that went viral on the Internet. An in-house investigation has since started and when we conclude, we will make the outcome public. It is noteworthy that the Nigeria Police Force remains one of the few organisations in this country that punishes one of its own whenever they err.

“Corruption is bad and anybody caught in the web of corrupt practices will be punished in accordance with our statute books. All acts of corruption are condemnable and we will never condone it. Corruption is evil. We appeal that nobody condones it.”

When asked for the name and rank of the policeman, Chukwuemeka declined to provide the information and directed our correspondent to check for it online.

In the three-minute 18-second video which has since become an Internet sensation, the man in uniform was seen seated in the front seat with the driver demanding the ₦10,000 bribe after he had observed some discrepancies between the vehicle particulars and its chassis number.

Several appeals by the driver, who was coming from Akure, Ondo State, to Umuahia, Abia State, before he was stopped in Onitsha, fell on deaf ears.

The drivers had explained that the mix-up was unintended, adding that the vehicle was not a stolen one. He even offered to pray for the policeman.