The Lagos State Police Command has announced the dismissal of Sergeant Ekpo Shimuyere, an officer attached to the Sogunle Division, following his involvement in an extortion incident where he unlawfully obtained N98,000 from a young man.
According to reports from the News Agency of Nigeria, the state Police Public Relations Officer, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed the dismissal during a press briefing.
Hundeyin revealed that the command’s Provost Department had already stripped Sgt. Ekpo Shimuyere of his police uniform and authority.
The incident unfolded when the dismissed sergeant seized the victim’s phone and proceeded to use a Point of Sale (PoS) operator to transfer N98,000 from the young man’s bank account, depleting the majority of the N100,000 available.
SP Benjamin Hundeyin expressed deep concern over the officer’s actions, stating that it directly contradicted the ethics of the police profession.
Such misconduct and abuse of power erode public trust and undermine the integrity of the police force.
He said, “The police command got the complaint from the victim and the officer denied the crime when he was contacted. The command placed him under detention so that he will not tamper with the evidence.
“We wrote to his bank and obtained his statement of account. We were able to trace the money to where the POS operator transferred it before transferring the money to the officer’s account.
“We followed due process to get his account. The victim was invited in the course of the investigation and he testified.
“The POS operator was also invited, and he said the officer requested him to transfer the money from the victim’s account to another one.”
The PPRO said the Sergeant was consequently subjected to an orderly room trial in line with extant laws.
“The Commissioner of Police, Lagos Command, Mr Idowu Owohunwa, has reviewed the orderly room procedure of the officer with Force No. 461654, attached to the Sogunle Police Division and has approved the punishment of dismissal from the force,” he said.
