The Ogun State Police Command has reacted to reports alleging that its officers in the Sango police division demanded for N40,000 from a complainant to incident a suspected kidnapping case.
An X-user had cried out over the abduction of a 7-year-old girl identified as Mercy Akande, allegedly by a customer at her mum’s shop in Sango Ota where she runs a PoS machine business. The X-user claimed that when the mother visited the police, they demanded for N10, 000 to report the case and N30, 000 to track the number of the suspect.
Reacting to the allegation, the command’s spokesperson, SP Omolola Odutola, in a statement released, said contrary to the allegations, there was no demand for forty thousand naira.
‘’The Ogun State Police Command has acknowledged a misleading report regarding an alleged demand for forty thousand naira (#40,000) from a complainant by police officers in the Sango Division to incident a suspected kidnapping case.
The publisher of the report relied solely on a one-sided account from a social media handle, which was not verified by the Ogun State Police Command, leading to the publication of a false narrative about Sango Division.
The writer, without proper investigation or consultation, produced a malicious story that overlooked the seriousness of the substantive case of suspected kidnapping involving a 7-year-old girl named Mercy Akande who is now held captive and the traumatizing challenges faced by her family, who have been contacted for ransom.
Contrary to the allegations, there was no demand for forty thousand naira. However, the police officer who received the complaint from the counter acted unprofessionally, as the matter was not escalated to the divisional police officer, which is necessary for appropriate attention. Internal disciplinary measures have been melted against the erring police officers for failure to notify the Divisional police officer (DPO) of the magnitude of the report.
The Divisional police officer has since reached out to the victim’s family, who have provided valuable information and efforts to locate the kidnappers and rescue the victim unhurt has commenced.’’