A fake policeman, 33-year-old Austin Okwuokei has confessed to
Lagos State Police Command that he bought his police uniform, which he uses to
extort money from motorists in Lagos and was making N10, 000 every two hours
before his arrest.
Okwuokei, who hails
from Ogwashi-Uku Delta State was apprehended by policemen
attached to the command’s monitoring team last Thursday at the Costain
Roundabout, Iponri.
The suspect allegedly started extorting motorists in the
state last year, after arriving from Edo State, where he had his family. He
was arrested after complaints were made at the Lagos State Police Command
Headquaters, Ikeja.
Okwuokei, in his statement to the police, allegedly
confessed to the crime, saying he bought the “police shirt” in Edo State.
He said, "I am a married man and I came to Lagos in
2015. When I was in Edo State, I bought the police shirt. I came to Lagos
and started using it to make money by extorting money from motorists. Anytime I
am on the road, I make an average of N10,000 within two hours. I actually
wanted to be a policeman, but when I failed, I started doing this. I am also a
commercial bus driver."
The spokesperson for the Lagos State Police Command,
SP Dolapo Badmos, said the command had been getting a lot of complaints from
motorists and residents in the area concerning the activities of the suspect.
She said, "We had received a series of complaints from
motorists and people living in that area that he had been extorting money from
them. The Commissioner of Police’s monitoring unit was sent to the area to
investigate and he was arrested in the process.
"He owned up to the crime and said he had been doing it
since he came to Lagos last year. We have declared war on people denting the
image of the police and we will make more arrests in the coming days.
"The command hereby appeals to members of the public
to be vigilant and not part with their hard-earned money to anyone who claims
to be a policeman or wears police uniform as the leadership of the Force abhors
all forms of corruption."
Badmos said the suspect would be arraigned in court at
the end of investigations.
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