– Dismissed policemen, Joseph Okoya and Yohanna Bitrus have been arrested by the zone 2 police command, Onikan, Lagos state
– Joseph Okoya was said to have been dismissed from the force in 2010 while Yohanna Bitrus was dismissed in 2015 for indiscipline
Dismissed policemen, Joseph Okoya and Yohanna Bitrus have been arrested by the zone 2 police command, Onikan, for allegedly using police uniform to extort money from motorists in the Abule Ado area of Lagos state.
The two suspects
Punch reports that 46-year-old Okoya, who was dismissed from the force in 2010, allegedly posed as a serving policeman to collect bribe from his victims.
He was said to have been arrested along with an accomplice, Yohanna Bitrus, who was reportedly dismissed in 2015 for indiscipline.
It was learned that the 46-year-old Okoya was arrested by the command’s X-squad operatives, who were on a routine patrol at the Abule Ado end of the Lagos-Badagry Expressway on Saturday, August 26.
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Bitrus, 35, was reportedly arrested on Sunday, August 26, in the trade fair area, while allegedly using police uniform to extort money from some motorists.
Exhibits recovered from Bitrus and Okoya, who drove a commercial bus, were said to include police uniforms, police identity cards, piles of petitions and statement forms, letterheads and some other incriminating documents.
The spokesperson for the zone, Muyiwa Adejobi, said the suspects would be charged to court for impersonation and unlawful possession of police materials.
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He said: ”The arrest was done on the instruction of the assistant inspector-general of police in the zone, Abdulmajid Ali, said sanity should be to police activities in the command.The suspects, who have confessed to using police uniforms to perpetrate illegal acts, will be charged to the Igbosere magistrate court.
” Ali advises the public to be wary of unscrupulous elements, denting the image of the force and engaging in criminal acts in the society.”
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