Odiko Macdon, spokesman for the Akwa-Ibom State Police Command, has pledged to return N110,000 to Ann Okike, a resident of the state whose family was arrested and extorted on January 10.
Macdon called FIJ in the early hours of Monday and said he had invited Okike to his office to hear the details of the matter and intervene.
After the meeting, Okike, in a text message to FIJ, said, “He was really angry with the policemen. He promised to give them the necessary punishment deserve.
“A chief superintendent of police who also heard about it promised to call us to come get our refund.”
“Thank you for everything, for being the voice of the voiceless. God will bless you.”
This development came a day after FIJ reported how officers of the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) arrested Okike’s family on the instruction of Christy George, their neighbour.
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The policemen Okike identified as “Sergeant Angela, Unyime and Alfred” collected N110,000 from the family as “bail” and demanded they return with N200,000 “damages”.
“They shared the money in our presence,” Okike told FIJ.
Ojukwu is a reporter with FIJ in partnership with Report for the World, which matches local newsrooms with talented emerging journalists to report on under-covered issues around the globe.
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