The Nigeria Police Force has identified and summoned officers seen in a viral video extorting motorists in Benin City, Edo State.
The footage, which surfaced on Monday, showed a police officer demanding either ₦5,000 or five litres of fuel from travellers who couldn’t provide proof of Electronic Central Motor Registry (ECMR) registration.
Reacting to the incident, Force Public Relations Officer Olumuyiwa Adejobi condemned the officers’ actions, confirming that they have been summoned to Force Headquarters.
“This action is utterly condemned. The officers have been identified and summoned to Force Headquarters for necessary action,” he stated on Tuesday via X (formerly Twitter).
“We will not tolerate any act of indiscipline or unprofessionalism. We will update the public on our decisions as soon as possible,” Adejobi added.
Despite the suspension of ECMR enforcement, one of the officers in the video persisted in demanding the document. A traveller questioned the request, asking, “What do you want us to do?” The officer replied, “We’ll go and buy it, that’s 5k.”
Another traveller asked, “You want 5k from each of us?” while another officer was heard telling a motorist to “bring three litres of fuel.”
The video sparked widespread outrage, with many Nigerians renewing concerns over police misconduct and extortion.
Commenting on the issue, Delta State Police Command spokesperson SP Edafe Bright expressed his dismay on X, writing, “All these policemen bringing shame to us, one by one, they will be sent out of the organisation. Maybe when they become jobless, they will go into content creation. This is embarrassing, and the force is on it.”
The ECMR enforcement had been suspended by the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, in July 2024 after nationwide criticism, with many citizens denouncing it as a means of extortion.