A Nigerian electrical engineer, Richard Bamas, has exposed a pattern of extortion at the Gwarimpa Police Station in Abuja, where officers allegedly demanded illegal fees totaling over N25,000 just to document a site robbery.
Richard Bamas, an electrical engineer, experienced a double tragedy last Saturday when he visited the Gwarimpa Police Station in Abuja to report a robbery. After armed men stormed his site at 4:00 am and made off with a brand-new generator and 15 bags of nails, Bamas sought to officially record the incident with the Nigeria Police Force (NPF). However, he was allegedly met with immediate demands for money at the front desk. “After she wrote down the statement, she told me I must appreciate the NPF. I asked how, and she said I must send money to her before she links me up with the IPO. I sent her N5,000. She linked me up with the IPO,” Bamas told FIJ, noting that despite the payment, the police have yet to visit the crime scene.
The extortion attempt escalated once Bamas was introduced to the Investigating Police Officer (IPO). According to the victim, the officer demanded an additional sum ranging from “N20,000 upwards” merely to process the paperwork. When Bamas questioned the justification for the fee, the officer reportedly claimed it was for the materials used during the interview. “After giving the IPO my statement, the IPO asked for money again. I asked how much; she said N20,000 upwards. I asked her what the money was for; she said for the pen and paper I used for writing down my statement,” Bamas recounted. Refusing to succumb to further pressure, Bamas left the station, stating, “I refused to pay the N20,000 that the IPO was asking for. I told her I would come back, but I didn’t go back.”
This incident highlights the persistent challenge of petty corruption within the Nigerian security architecture, despite official stances to the contrary. In 2022, the then-NPF spokesperson Muyiwa Adejobi explicitly stated that Nigerians are not required to pay to report cases or facilitate investigations. Efforts by FIJ to reach Josephine Adeh, the FCT Police Command spokesperson, for a reaction were unsuccessful as calls and messages remained unanswered at press time. Bamas’ experience, shared on social media, has sparked renewed calls for accountability within the FCT command to ensure that victims of crime are not further victimized by the authorities meant to protect them.