An employee of the Federal Medical Centre, Abeokuta, Ogun State, Lateef Iyanda, has accused the Kwara State Police Command of negligence in conducting a thorough investigation into a fraud case linked to him.
Iyanda disclosed this in an interview with PUNCH Metro on Thursday.
He alleged that he was arrested on August 29 at the Adatan area of Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, by some policemen who he said took him to a police station in Ilorin, Kwara State, where he was informed that a fraudulent transaction had occurred on his Palmpay account.
“I was arrested on August 29 at the Adatan roundabout and taken to Adatan Police Station. I requested to know what my offence was, and they showed me a paper with my picture and BVN, and that when I got to Ilorin, I would know what I did.
“When we got to Ilorin, I was then informed that a fraudulent transaction was done on my account. I told them I didn’t have a Palmpay account and that the number on the account that was used for the fraud, which was also the Palmpay account number, did not belong to me. This may be a case of a fraudulent transaction.
“I was told to agree to pay the money after being locked up for a week. When I realised that there was no help in sight, I agreed to pay and was told the money was N200,000, and I would also pay N150,000 for the transport of the police officers who came to arrest me, and N100,000 as a bail fee. I started pleading with them that I am an ordinary civil servant.
“The police said I should pay N200,000 and sign an undertaking that I would send the rest when I get to Abeokuta. I told them I only had N115,000 in my account, and they agreed that I should pay N100,000 as a part payment with a surety. They followed me to the bank to withdraw the money and also collected N13,000 as a bail fee. I called my sister, who came around and stood as a surety before I was released,” Iyanda said.
Upon arriving in Abeokuta, Iyanda said he made efforts to get the details of the person who registered the number used in opening the account, which he discovered was registered in Rivers State with an unidentified name.
He said he was advised by a senior colleague to visit the Kwara State Police Public Relations Officer, which he did. But the PPRO also advised him, after he had been excused from a discussion with the police team in charge of the case, to pay the N100,000 balance to the complainant without thorough investigation to unravel the perpetrators of the fraudulent transaction.
Iyanda disclosed further, “I was called some days ago that my sister, who stood as surety for me, had been arrested because the police said I was not cooperating with them, which is a false allegation because he had always been in contact with the police officer in charge.”
He, however, urged the Nigeria Police Force to come to his aid by thoroughly investigating the case so that he can be exonerated.
“I am just a poor civil servant and I don’t have anyone to help me. I am appealing to the police to thoroughly investigate this matter and bring the perpetrators to book so that my innocence can be proven, and my sister will be released too,” Iyanda concluded.
When contacted, the Kwara Police Public Relations Officer, Ajayi Okasanmi, said he was not aware of the case.
“I am not aware of the case you are talking about; you may ask him to come to my office to lay his complaint, we will investigate,” Okasanmi said.
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