90-year-old man sues police officers over alleged N300,000 extortion

By BASSEY ANTHONY, Uyo

A 90-year-old man, Mr. Obong Ene Iso has dragged some police officers before the Akwa Ibom State High Court sitting in Uyo over alleged extortion.

Obong Ene alleged that one Chinedu Eme of AIG Zone 6 Monitoring Unit Police Zonal Office Calabar and other officers extorted various sums of money from him amounting to N300, 000.

Counsel to the octogenarian, Uduak Okon said the matter arose after one Ime Ita Ekpenyong (alias Matthew Dominic Ime) named as the first respondent forged court papers which he used to grab peoples’ lands including that of his client.

According to the applicant’s counsel, his client reported the case of forgery to the Zone 6 Zonal Command, Calabar and the first respondent (Ekpenyong) was arrested for impersonation but later freed.

He said the first respondent afterward used the same zonal police to arrest the applicant through allegations of forcible trespassing into his land and organise intimidation.

The counsel said after his client was arrested, the police officers began extorting him of over 300,000 naira, adding that relatives of his client who visited the zonal command were arrested including the son.

”Each time my client appears at Calabar Zone with members of his family, they would be arrested and money extorted. On the last occasion which was on the 8th of June, the police ransacked them and took 40,000 naira from them.

”As if it was not enough, they demanded that it should be up to 50,000 and they detained my client who is 90 years old and the man had to call his son and his wife to transfer additional 10,000 which the son did and the evidence of the transfer is there”, he added.

However, the first respondent, Ime Ita Ekpenyong alias Matthew Dominic Ime, second respondent, Chinedu Eme, third respondent, The Assistant Inspector General of Police (Zone 6 Zonal Command, Calabar), fourth respondent, The Inspector General of Police, and the fifth respondent, The Minister of Police Affairs, did not appear in court for the hearing.

But the Vacation Court in Uyo presided over by Justice Nkereuwem Obot frowned at the actions of the respondents which amounted to contempt of the court, saying that necessary action would be accorded.

The matter was later adjourned to 5th October 2020 for another hearing. (The Nation)