No fewer than six policemen from Ekan Meje division of the Kwara State Police Command charged with official corruption have been pardoned and reinstated to their duty post, FIJ can exclusively report.

On March 26, four officers from Ekan Meje division waylaid Oluwole Ayodeji and collected N40,000 from him at gunpoint while he was returning from his alma mater, the Federal University Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE), to his hometown in Ilorin, Kwara state.

These same officers committed a similar crime against two Ondo youth at the same checkpoint before it was reported by Oluyemi Fasipe, a Twitter user, on social media.

On March 29, six of the officers from Ekan Meje were summoned to the State Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in Ilorin, the Kwara Police headquarters,  in connection to the allegation of extortion. According to multiple sources, three of the officers identified were Inspector Sunday Omueke, Inspector Kenneth Isiramen and Sergeant Shola (popularly called ‘Money’).

Oluyemi confirmed to our reporter that the victims’ funds were later refunded after the officers were arrested.

All the arrested officers were tried at the orderly room but FIJ later gathered that they were released and in fact transferred to other divisions.

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To further confirm this, one of the erring officers, Sergeant Sunday, still made ‘a call of friendship’ to a source who is privy to the case, on April 13, informing the person about his release.

On Saturday, April 23, Inspector Omueke also fixed a physical appointment with someone via phone. The appointment was to be held at the CID in Ilorin, where Omueke is said to resume his new duty.

An expert, Barrister Ahmed Rufai explained that if any police officer is found guilty of an offence, such officer would be tried in the orderly room and punished based on the degree of the offence, upon investigation.

For extorting Nigerians at gunpoint, which is tantamount to ‘official corruption’, however, a junior officer or an inspector should be punished with dismissal or reduction of rank, at the very least, according to the Police Act.

Ajayi Okasanmi, the Kwara Police Public Relations Officer, didn’t answer his calls neither has he responded to a text message asking for comments on the matter.