The Nigerian Police say some men masquerading as their officers collected N5 million from residents of Yar-Katsina village in Zamfara in exchange for security and protection.
However, the police said the money paid by the locals for police and other security agencies to protect them against bandits was paid to two alleged extortionists.
The police command in Zamfara said it had arrested the duo for extorting N5 million from the community to facilitate the deployment of security operatives to the community.
This is contained in a statement issued on Thursday by the command’s spokesman, SP Muhammad Shehu.
He said one of the suspects hailed from Jangebe village in Talata Mafara local government area. The other suspect was from Yardole in Gusau LGA.
“The arrest of the suspects was as a result of complaints received from members of the community against the principal suspect, Lawali Musa. Police investigation revealed that the principal suspect confessed to have collected the sum of N5 million from the community in the name of assisting them to have security agencies deployed to their community,” the statement said. “The second suspect, Jamilu Isah, confessed that the sum of 800,000 out of the N5 million collected was deposited into his account.”
The police added that the suspects would be arraigned in court after a full investigation and reiterated that deploying security operatives to villages and communities was free of charge.
The police command appealed to the public to report any person or group demanding money to secure the deployment of security operatives to their areas.
“You can reach out to the police or any relevant authority regarding the general security of your respective areas. Any suspect should also be reported to the police or any security agency for appropriate action,” he added.