The Nigeria Police Force has identified and summoned officers involved in a viral extortion incident in Benin City, Edo State, where they were seen demanding ₦5,000 or five litres of fuel from motorists lacking proof of Electronic Central Motor Registry (ECMR) registration.
The video, widely circulated on Monday, captured an officer insisting on the ECMR document—despite its enforcement being suspended since July 2024—while negotiating with travelers over bribes.
Reacting on Tuesday, Force Public Relations Officer Olumuyiwa Adejobi condemned the incident and confirmed that the officers had been summoned to the Force Headquarters.
“This action is utterly condemned,” he wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “The officers have been identified and summoned… We will not tolerate any act of indiscipline or unprofessionalism.”
The footage, which sparked public outrage, shows a traveller asking, “You want 5k from each of us?” as an officer instructs another motorist to “bring three litres of fuel.”
Delta State Police Command spokesperson, SP Edafe Bright, also reacted on X: “All these policemen bringing shame to us—one by one, they will be sent out of the organisation. Maybe when they become jobless, they will go into content creation. This is embarrassing.”
The incident has reignited concerns over police extortion, particularly regarding the ECMR, a policy the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, suspended last year after nationwide backlash and accusations that it was being used as a tool for extortion.
