20th January, 2024
By Okafor Ofiebor/Port Harcourt
The Police have confirmed the arrest of some of the officers from Rivers Command for kidnapping a man in Aba, Abia State and forcing him to transfer 3000 USDT ( A cryptocurrency stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar) to their wallet after they took him to Delta State.
One Harrison Gwamnishu revealed the incident on his X, (formerly known as Twitter).
The spokesperson for Rivers Police Command also confirmed the incident following the post by Gwamnishu.
He said the rogue police officers kidnapped the man in Aba, took him to Bayelsa State and later Ughelli in Delta State where they took the 3000USDT from him.
He added that the police officers later brought the man back to Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital where they allowed him to go.
“The police officers attached to Rivers State Police Command left Port Harcourt to ABA, ABIA State, arrested the man, took him to Rivers State, Bayelsa State and entered Ughelli, Delta State.
“After paying 3000 USDT, they moved him back to Port Harcourt and dumped him.
“Let it be on record that the Commissioner of Police Rivers State Command is aware of this Kidnapping by men under his supervision”.
In a swift reponse, SP Grace Iringe-Koko, the Spokesperson for the Command confirmed the incident and said the Police personnel had been identified and arrested.
In her press statement “Re: 3000 USDT Transferred To Police Officers WALLET
“The Police personnel have been identified and arrested while the investigation is in progress.
“The outcome will be made public as soon as it is concluded”.
Our Correspondent reports that a similar incident happened last year where Police Personnel attached to Bayelsa State Police Command intercepted some young men at Omoku junction and drove them around many places in Rivers and landed somewhere in Ughelli, Delta State where they extorted huge sums of money through a Point of Sale, POS, operator.
They were also identified, arrested and disciplined according to police procedures.