The Nigeria Police Force on Thursday dismissed five inspectors from its Rivers State Police Command after investigators linked them to acts of kidnapping, extortion, stealing and official corruption. The officers, identified as John Okoi, Eyibo Asuquo, Udo Ndipmong, Bright Nwachukwu and Anele Ikechukwu, were all attached to the department of operations.
The force said the five had gone through orderly room proceedings before being removed from service, and that their case file had been forwarded for prosecution on charges bordering on conspiracy, armed robbery, kidnapping, extortion, official corruption and related offences. The move comes as police try to show they are willing to punish misconduct inside their own ranks, not just in public.
The dismissal also sits alongside a wider investigation that uncovered what police described as a criminal syndicate involving six officers attached to Zone 16 headquarters in Yenagoa, Bayelsa state. Those officers allegedly carried out armed robbery, kidnapping and extortion while running illegal patrols in Port Harcourt, abducting victims during unlawful stop-and-search operations and forcing them to open banking and cryptocurrency apps. Police said three of the officers have been arrested, while three other suspects remain on the run.
Exhibits recovered from the investigation include three Toyota Sienna buses and ₦7,338,800.00 traced to the criminal activity. Police said the officers extorted millions of naira from victims’ bank and cryptocurrency accounts, a scheme that Anthony Placid said amounted to a gross betrayal of the ethics, standards and professional values of the Nigeria Police Force. He added that members of the public should keep reporting police misconduct, abuse of office, extortion and human rights violations through established complaint channels for prompt investigation and action.
The force said the dismissals were part of ongoing internal cleansing and institutional reform efforts aimed at strengthening discipline and accountability. It also said the leadership under Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, remained committed to identifying and removing criminal elements within the institution regardless of rank, a signal that the case is meant to be more than a one-off punishment.
