PUNCH Metro learnt that after the victim was arrested, his house and office in the Itamaga area of Ikorodu were ransacked by the policemen.
Benson, in an interview with our correspondent, alleged that the policemen extorted N300,000 from him before he was released, adding that his apprentice was also detained for recording their activities. He stated, “One of the companies that I work for called me that some policemen from Abuja were coming to check some of our pieces of land at Lakowe; so, we agreed to meet on August 14, 2020. I went to the place in company with one of the directors of the company and the policemen came in five vehicles.
“I asked what my offence was, but they said that we should go to the Area ‘J’ Police Command in Ajah, where they showed me a petition by some villagers that some people connived with the state government to take over their land, but my name was not on the petition. I told them that my name was not on the petition and that it was the company’s name that was on it and that if they had any issues with the company, they should deal directly with it.
They seized my vehicle and my phone, and prevented me from contacting my family and the company that I work for; I was later taken to the Area ‘G’ in Ogba and detained there. I was brought out of the cell on Saturday and taken to my house in Ikorodu barefooted.
When they got to my house, people were surprised because they had been looking for me and one of my apprentices, who saw them in mufti with guns, started recording them with his phone. They ransacked everywhere in my house looking for a gun, but they could not find any; so, they resorted to searching my land documents and took everything and another vehicle away.”
Benson added, “Some people were able to prevail on them and they promised to release me on Sunday, but that I had to pay N500,000. After much bargaining, they collected N300,000 before I was released.
“When I was about to be released after paying the money, someone sent a report to them that an online medium published about their activities in my house, so the officers insisted that I must produce my apprentice, who recorded them, and when my apprentice came to the station, he was detained and I was released.”
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