On Friday, August 27, Tega Paul was on a business trip when he was stopped by officers of the Police Intelligence Response Unit (IRT) along Delta State Polytechnic, Ogwashi-Uku in Delta State.

Paul thought it was the regular police stop-and-search operation, but he would be framed up for having and transporting a controlled drug and made to pay N50,000.

It was around 10am. After searching Paul, the Police said they had found Viagra, a drug taken to increase blood flow to the penis and improve erectile function, in his booth. However, Paul said all he had in his vehicle were vitamins and that the police officers planted Viagra there to have a reason to arrest him.

“All I had in the car were vitamins,” he told FIJ.

Paul was harassed and taken to a police station which had no signpost. According to Paul, the only way to know he was dealing with police officers was the ‘IRT’ written on their vehicle.

“I even saw people being tortured. Someone was hung to a stake upside down and tortured,” he wrote on Twitter.

On arriving at the police station, he met a couple of other people who were being beaten and tortured. To prevent such treatment, the police officers asked that he paid N50,000.

“After directing me to a POS, they seized my phone and car to ensure I returned,” Paul lamented.

After paying the money, Paul reported the extortion at the Delta State Police Headquarters, Asaba, but they said they didn’t know the squad and the police station he described.

“How can the police headquarters say they do not know of one of their police stations or their squad? I saw the police station painted in their colour, only that it didn’t have a signboard. If they do not know of the squad, then we are at a big risk. Does it mean people with guns now have access to a police station of their own?”      

Although officers at the headquarters requested that he transported them to the police station, he refused out of fear.

When contacted, DSP Bright Edafe, Delta State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), confirmed to FIJ that the IRT squad exists in Asaba. He also requested that Paul contacted him.