A POLICE officer with the Intelligence Response Team (IRT), Godwin Ahanmisi, demanded and received the sum of N250,000 from a complainant, Ukachukwu Lois, to arrest a fraud suspect in Lagos State.
Lois told The ICIR that she complained to Ahanmisi in April 2021 that one Eric Kalu had absconded with her N3 million naira, which was meant for foreign exchange.
However, according to Lois, Ahanmisi told her to pay the sum of N250,000 before he could search and arrest Kalu for interrogation.
“When I got to the IRT office, I met him (Ahanmisi) there; he asked how much I wanted to recover from Kalu, I told him it was three million naira, and he said before he could do anything, I should pay him,” Lois said.
READ ALSO:
How Kyari sold 20kg cocaine confiscated by IRT – NDLEA
Insecurity: Gunmen attack soldiers in Abia
Train attack: Terrorists release Bank of Agric MD, threaten to kill other passengers
FLASH POINTS: How driving in Abuja can be dangerous
She noted that she paid the N250,000 to Ahanmisi out of desperation to recover her money from the alleged fraud suspect.
The ICIR confirmed that N250,000 was paid into Ahanmisi’s account, which he operates with Guaranty Trust Bank.
The money was paid into his account number 0009667412 Ahanmisi Godwin in two tranches by the complainant.
Six months after, Lois told The ICIR that the money had not been recovered; rather than interrogating the suspect, Ahanmisi threatened to ’embarrass’ her for consistently calling him.
“After one month, he started ignoring my calls; I did not see my money or the suspect I reported to the IRT. Then I started calling him repeatedly to pay me back my money which made him threaten to embarrass me,” Lois said.
According to the Police Act 2020, Regulation 370 (C) ii, a police officer is guilty of a corrupt practice if he receives bribe.
Police fail to investigate complaint
Following the incident, Lois complained to the designated Police Complaint Response Unit (CRU) via its Twitter handle meant for resolving complaints against police officers but no significant action has been taken.
Lois said she sent proof of the transaction to the Police Twitter account and was given an ID to track her complaint. But she said nothing significant had become of the complaint.
When The ICIR contacted Ahanmisi, he acknowledged that he collected N250,000 from Lois to track the accused.
However, he said the money was given to another operative of the State Security Service (SSS), who helped to find the location of the alleged fraud suspect.
“When she and her brother came to me, I told them how much they would need to pay for the tracking, and they did,” Ahanmisi said.
He said although he arrested the suspect, some operatives of the Force Criminal Investigation Department in Alagbon, Lagos State, came to pick him up over another petition.
Ahanmisi said he had promised to repay the money.
The IRT has been involved in several allegations of misconduct, including extra-judicial killing, illegal detention, extortion and bribe-taking.
The suspended head of the IRT Abba Kyari is currently in the custody of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), facing charges bordering on conspiracy, obstruction and drug trafficking.
Kyari and four other officers of the IRT are also alleged to have unlawfully tampered with 21.25kg worth of cocaine.
A US court had also issued a warrant of arrest on Kyari over his alleged involvement in a conspiracy to commit wire fraud, money laundering and identity theft.
Following the report, Ahamisi has paid N150,000 out of the N250,000 collected from the complainant.
He also made a promise to return the remaining part of the money to Lois.
NOTES: The report was updated to reflect the refund.
Lukman Abolade is an Investigative reporter with The ICIR. Reach out to him via [email protected], on twitter @AboladeLAA and FB @Correction94