Four police officers have been arrested by the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command for allegedly extorting ₦53,000 from the Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Dr. Musa Aliyu (SAN), during an illegal stop-and-search operation in Abuja.

The FCT Commissioner of Police, Ahmed Sanusi, disclosed the incident on Monday while addressing journalists in Abuja, describing the officers as "thieves" who were unworthy of wearing the police uniform.

Sanusi said the officers abandoned their official duty posts and mounted an illegal checkpoint around the Banex area in Wuse, where they stopped and extorted the ICPC chairman without realizing who he was.

According to the police commissioner, the officers compelled Dr. Aliyu to withdraw ₦53,000 through a Point of Sale (POS) operator. The ICPC chairman also paid the transaction charges before the officers allegedly shared the money among themselves.

"I must say here too that we have about four policemen in custody as we speak who successfully extorted somebody of high importance, unknown to them that this person is a highly placed person in society. In clear terms, they extorted the Chairman of the ICPC.

"They extorted him of ₦53,000. They took him to a POS, he withdrew the money, paid the charges and they shared the money among themselves," Sanusi said.

He explained that investigations showed the officers had deserted their assigned duty posts, formed a gang, and set up an unauthorized checkpoint to extort motorists.

"They are a gang of criminals who left various divisions, clustered together, moved to Wuse Banex and created a checkpoint where they perpetrated this act before fleeing," he said.

The commissioner revealed that the command declared the officers wanted before arresting the gang leader, whose confession led investigators to the other members of the group.

"We got all of them. We are going to make sure they are severely punished. Those that are going to be dismissed will definitely be dismissed," he stated.

Sanusi also reiterated that the Inspector-General of Police has banned officers from indiscriminately searching citizens' mobile phones during patrol operations.

He urged residents to reject any unlawful request by police officers to inspect their phones on the roadside and instead report such incidents through the police emergency lines.

"You cannot stop anybody on the road and ask the person to bring out his phone for search. If any policeman stops you and asks to search your phone, don't agree. Call the police emergency lines and we will ask them why," he said.

The commissioner further encouraged members of the public to promptly report cases of extortion and other misconduct by police personnel, assuring Nigerians that erring officers would be identified and punished.

"We will still enforce the IG's directive. Some of them are on the task because they are criminally minded. They want to perpetrate such acts. If we get them, they will face disciplinary actions and will be made to face the consequences," Sanusi added.