Isaac Eke, the Ondo State Commissioner of Police, has warned all the officers and men of the command against extorting money from members of the public, especially motorists and commercial motorcyclists.
Eke, who gave this warning in his office on Wednesday while speaking with journalists, said the Ondo police command would not hesitate to punish ruthlessly any officer caught in the act of extorting money from motorists in the state.
The CP also called on the people to report any policeman caught in the act to the Akure headquarters of the command.
However, the police boss denied the allegation by commercial motorcyclists that some policemen in the state had been extorting money from them on a daily basis. The CP said he had not received such a report.
The Amalgamated Commercial Motorcycle Riders Association of Nigeria, Ondo State branch, had alleged that policemen from the Ijapo Police Division in Akure, the state capital, extorted them every day. A violent confrontation between the motorcyclists and some policemen from the Ijapo division was barely averted last week Friday.
Eke explained that the clash between the policemen and the motorcyclists was as a result of the fight that ensued between a policeman on duty and the motorcyclists in the Oke Ijebu area of the city and not as a result of alleged extortion.
He asked policemen in the state to ensure that they have a cordial relationship with the people in order to receive useful information. The CP also appealed to the people to support the command in the fight against crime and criminality in the state.
“I want to appeal to our people to support us in the fight against the criminals. The issue of security should not be left alone to the police, all of us must join hands in making our society a crime-free society,” the CP said.
On kidnapping in the state, Eke said the command had been making efforts to apprehend those behind the crime. He noted that the command was already working with other security agents from other neighbouring states to check mate the activities of kidnappers in the state.
It will be recalled that three people were recently kidnapped in the state within three weeks. The victims included the Regent of Akungba Akoko, Oluwatoyin Omosowon, and the Executive Secretary of the Cocoa Association of Nigeria, Segun Adewumi.
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