How policemen collected $25,000 after labelling me IPOB member – Hair vendor

My name is Obinna Henry, I’m from Awgu in Enugu State, and my parents live at Oji River. My father works at a microfinance bank in Awka while my mother is a health centre nurse. I am staying in Asaba with my siblings. I deal in bitcoins. I’m also a hair vendor.

This incident occurred while I was driving from Asaba to Oji River. After Onitsha, there is a bad road, which makes commuting difficult because many trucks and vehicles have to slow down to pass that place comfortably.

While I approached the bad portion of the road, I was sure I saw a white Toyota Hiace bus with tinted glasses. The number plate was written in green, showing that the vehicle was government-owned. When I passed that vehicle, I saw the driver, but my mind didn’t suspect anything, and there were other transport buses loading passengers to different destinations.

After driving for a while, I just pulled over at a junction to ease myself. The ignition of my car was still on, and my two phones were still in the car because I made a quick stop and was going to continue my journey because I already told my mother that I was on my way.

While I was urinating, I saw that the white Toyota Hiace bus had double-crossed my car and parked in front of me, and six armed men with extra magazines attached to their guns approached me. I was surprised. These men asked for my vehicle papers which I provided.

They then asked for my driving licence and tint permit which I presented to them without any argument. After they searched everything, nothing was found on me. I was told to enter their bus. I questioned my arrest after providing them with all they asked for; they said they were police officers, and that they had every right to investigate anybody.

What prompted you to stop at that specific location where these officers approached you?

Usually, when I travel, I do not stop on the road to do anything, but as it happened that very day, I stopped at that place because I was pressed and wanted to urinate. This is the first time I stopped to do so while travelling.

How did the policemen approach you?

Their appearance was frightening, and I did not feel safe. Before I entered the vehicle, I wanted to take my phone from my car, but one of them asked me to leave it. They dragged me into their vehicle, which had tinted glass, so someone from the outside couldn’t see what was going on in the bus.

What happened after?

The driver turned on the ignition while one of them drove my car following behind. I noticed that the driver did not stop at any of the police checkpoints on our way as he simply drove past them which I believe was easy for them because of the number plate the vehicle had.

While on the bus, they were asking me about my details, but I kept mute and did not say a word, I just kept calm. After fruitless efforts in trying to make me talk, one of them brought out his ID card, showing me that they were police officers and not kidnappers. However, while he was showing me the ID card, he covered his name. I checked carefully, but I could not get it.

After showing me the ID card, I relaxed and started to answer their questions. After a while, I was asked to open my phone, which I refused to do. They immediately handcuffed me. There were two officers at the back, and those people were punching me; they gave me blows on my forehead until I started bleeding.

They were driving while all this was happening. The one who handcuffed me, approached me and tightened the handcuffs so much that the handcuffs gave me wounds in my hand. While they were beating me, one of them warned that if I didn’t open my phone, I would be tagged as an IPOB member and that I had something to hide.

I denied their allegations. I remember I had some mint N200 notes totalling about N5,000 in my car which I usually gave out to police officers on the road. The officer who drove my car took it all. They threatened to shoot me and boasted that nothing would happen, and nobody would know my whereabouts if I didn’t unlock my phone.

When the matter degenerated and their action was becoming a threat to my life, I unlocked my first phone. They were going through my phone and found nothing incriminating. Another officer asked me to unlock my iPhone, and I refused. They immediately got angry and started beating me again until I unlocked the phone.

Immediately I unlocked that phone, the officer holding it navigated to my wallet account, opened it, and saw money. He started showing his other colleagues the money in my wallet, claiming that was why I refused to unlock my phone. They told me they would collect the money.

These officers beat me until the driver took us to one lonely place surrounded by bushes. When we got to that lonely place, they stopped their car and mine, and they started beating me again, insisting that I must transfer that money to their account.

The officers with me on the bus told me that if their colleague who drove my car knew I was delaying transferring this money to them, he would be upset and might even shoot me, and that they would throw me in the bush there and nothing would happen.

Fortunately for me, when the officer came out, he started bullying them for injuring me on my forehead because he saw blood on my head. He asked me who injured me, and I pointed the officer out. He noted that he had told them to stop inflicting injuries on people in the process of trying to collect money.

What was on your mind when the policeman began to interrogate his colleagues?

This was an indicator that such incidents had occurred in the past. While we were there, they were discussing how to get another person to bring his phone and make sure that I did that transfer to them. That money was meant for my business.

Can you tell us the date and time of the incident?

The incident occurred on November 20, 2024, around 12pm. If I saw them right now, I would be able to identify them. However, they did not have name tags on their dresses, and they were all putting on very deceptive nose masks but I can recall they were seven in number.