Police Summon Officers Caught In Viral Video Demanding N5000 Or Fuel From Motorists

The Nigeria Police Force has tracked down and summoned several officers caught in a viral video extorting travellers in Benin City, Edo State.

The officers were seen demanding either ₦5,000 or five litres of fuel from motorists who couldn’t provide proof of Electronic Central Motor Registry (ECMR) registration.

The video, which went viral on Monday, showed one officer insisting that each traveller pay ₦5,000 or hand over fuel. Even after being told ECMR enforcement had been suspended, the officers continued to demand for money or fuel.

One traveller challenged the request, asking, “What do you want us to do?” An officer responded, “We’ll go and buy it, that’s 5k.”

The traveller then responded, “You want 5k from each of us?” while the officer instructed another motorist to “bring three litres of fuel.”

Reacting to the footage, Force spokesperson Olumuyiwa Adejobi called the behavior unacceptable and confirmed that the officers involved have been summoned to Force Headquarters for disciplinary action.

“This action is utterly condemned. The officers have been identified and summoned to Force Headquarters for necessary action,” Adejobi wrote on Tuesday via X (formerly Twitter).

“We will not tolerate any act of indiscipline or unprofessionalism. We will update the public on our decisions as soon as possible.”

The video has stirred public anger and reignited long-standing concerns over police misconduct and roadside extortion.

Delta State Police spokesperson, SP Edafe Bright, also expressed anger on X, writing, “All these policemen bringing shame to us, one by one, they will be sent out of the organisation. Maybe when they become jobless, they will go into content creation. This is embarrassing, and the force is on it.”

The Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, had already suspended ECMR enforcement in July 2024 after many Nigerians criticised the initiative as just another way to extort citizens.

Watch the video below:

KanyiDaily recalls that a Customary Court in Mapo, Ibadan, recently remanded two brothers in prison after they were accused of verbally attacking a police officer.