In a viral video on X, a senior police officer caught a junior colleague allegedly extorting money from motorists and ordered him to publicly surrender the cash.
The senior officer, who is not visible in the video was heard at the background visibly angry by the misconduct. He confronted the junior officer and ordered him to immediately produce all the money he had collected from road users.
According to some comments on the video, the incident took place in Abia State.
The senior officer was heard saying, “Drop, drop here, all the money. Drop all the money, drop all the money, drop all the money. I’ll be angry.”
The junior officer, appearing visibly shaken and disgraced, reluctantly dipped his hands into his pockets and began to bring out the money, placing them one after the other on the bonnet of a nearby car as instructed.
The senior officer continued his stern directive: “Unless you don’t want me to send you to headquarters, drop it first. I’ll know what to do, all of them here. Drop all of them.
“Drop all, all. All the money, come like this. Drop all the money, let me see you, come like this. All the money, drop, drop it there. Yes, drop all of them.”
As the junior officer complied, the senior officer questioned the justification for his actions, condemning the practice of extorting motorists and tricycle operators.
“Did police send you to collect money on the road? Your work is to prevent crime, understand? Not to collect money, not to tax keke. It’s not your duty to tax them,” he said.
“Your duty is to prevent crime. This thing you’re about to do is not good. It’s an eyesore.”
The embattled junior officer, overwhelmed by the confrontation, was heard pleading for leniency.
“I’m so sorry,” he repeatedly said, while attempting to move closer to the senior officer.
However, the senior officer immediately cautioned him to keep his distance.
“Stay there, stay there. Stay there. No, no, no, no. See all the money. How much is that? Is it up to your salary? How much are they paying inspectors and police? Look at the way you are behaving and disgracing yourself. It’s not good.”
He further admonished the officer on proper policing procedures, stressing that any legitimate enforcement action must follow due process.
“If you want to collect money, park motors and dictate their offense. Take the person to the station. This is not a secret.
“Why are you taking N200 on the road? It is not good,” he added.
This is a warning to all police officers fond of collecting money from motorists because they may be the next to be caught.