SOME officers of the Ogun State Police command have been detained for allegedly demanding money from the family of a missing girl before addressing the case.
The Nigeria Police Force Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi, shared the update in a post on X on Saturday, December 28 2024. He did not reveal the identities of the officers involved, but stated that they were being held in detention.
The post read in part:
“Otta missing girl: The policemen who demanded money before they could attend to the case have been arrested and are now in detention for disciplinary action.
“We condemn such an act and will not tolerate it. It is inhuman, apathetic, and unprofessional.”
Adejobi reiterated the command’s dedication to finding the missing girl and assured the public that efforts were underway to locate her soon.
“The Ogun State Police command has been on the case. The girl will be found as soon as possible. We also urge the family of the victim to cooperate with the police,” he added.
The seven-year-old was reportedly abducted by a frequent customer of her mother in Ogun State on Monday December 23, 2024.
This was made known in an X post by the girl’s cousin on Wednesday, December 25, 2024 while also noting that the incident was reported to the nearest police station in the community.
He further stated that the mother was asked to pay ₦10,000 to file the report and an additional ₦30,000 to track the suspect’s phone number.
“We have reported to a police station in Sango and the struggling mom has been asked to pay a total of N10,000 to report the case (she has done that). And to bring N30,000 for the suspect’s phone number to be tracked. She’ll be going back there tomorrow to pay.
“As it is now, work has not even started. She only paid N8000 to write her statement at the station and a total of N2000 to print out pictures of the missing girl. Then to track the phone number, she has to pay the sum of N30,000 and get a court affidavit to take to MTN office,” he wrote.
Fatimah Quadri is a Journalist and a Fact-checker at The ICIR. She has written news articles, fact-checks, explainers, and media literacy in an effort to combat information disorder.
She can be reached at sunmibola_q on X or fquadri@icirnigeria.org