A civil society organization, the Joint Action Front (JAF), is calling for a full investigation by the Inspector General of Police into an incident where officers attached to the Area H Command in Ogudu, Lagos, extorted ₦3.33 million (approximately $2,000 in USDT) from a couple. JAF demands that if found guilty, all implicated officers should be dismissed and prosecuted.
According to a report by the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ), the officers stopped the couple early on December 18, 2025, as they were traveling out of Lagos. After taking them to the station, profiling the man, and seizing their phones, the police coerced a statement from the husband without legal representation. They then demanded a $5,000 USDT bribe, eventually forcing the couple to transfer $2,000 to a provided crypto wallet.
A friend of the victims, identified as Abiodun Alabi, reported the extortion to the Police Complaints Response Unit (CRU) on the same day. Following the report and subsequent media exposure on social media platform X, the officers returned ₦2.2 million. However, they pleaded to keep ₦1.1 million, claiming the money had already been distributed among several personnel.
During a meeting at the station with the commanding officer, Olumide Jegede, the victims identified the officers involved. The team leader allegedly attempted to justify the extortion, claiming he had "helped" the couple, and even threatened to involve the cybercrime unit against the man.
Olumide Jegede reportedly told the victims that because the money had been shared, only a partial refund of ₦2.3 million was possible. So far, ₦2.2 million has been returned, with a promise of an additional ₦100,000 pending the recovery of an allegedly ill officer.
When contacted by Savannah News Inc. for comment, Mr. Jegede declined to speak, directing the reporter to visit his office on Monday for further details.
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