PSC to IGP: Investigate Zone 7 officers fingered in corruption, land matters

The Chairman of the Police Service Commission and a Retired Deputy Inspector General of Police, DIG Hashimu Argungu, has written to the Inspector General of Police, IGP Kayode Egbetokun, urging him to investigate the roles of some officers of the Zone 7 Police Command for their alleged involvement in corruption, civil, and land matters.

The Head of the Media and Public Relations Unit of the PSC, Ikechukwu Ani, made the request of the Chairman to the IGP known.

Ani said Argungu is requesting that Egbetokun should set up a competent committee to conduct further investigation into the activities of the Officer-in-Charge of the Legal Unit and the Deputy Commissioner in charge of Operations of the Zone for their alleged “abuse of office, extortion and gross misconduct contrary to the rules of engagement and conduct of Police Officers”.

He stated that the letter followed a complaint and petition “received from one Alhaji Abubakar Yahaya against the two officers of the zone”.

He said that Argungu’s letter to the IGP also aligned with the commission’s avowed commitment to purge the Police from meddling in civil matters.

Also Read:

• Vatsa to El-Rufai, Babachair: You are self serving politicians
• TETFund, NEITI collaborate to close revenue gaps 
• Buhari mourns Adebanjo: An immense loss to Nigeria
• Pa Adebanjo: What our leader will be remembered for – Afenifere
• Pa Adebanjo: Yoruba lost an Iroko — Iba Gani Adams 

He said: “DIG Argungu is requesting that the Inspector General of Police set up a competent Committee to conduct further investigation into the activities of the Officer in charge of the Legal Unit and the Deputy Commissioner in charge of Operations of the Zone for abuse of office, extortion, and gross misconduct contrary to the rules of engagement and conduct of Police Officers.”

According to Ani, Argungu said the letter “is prompted by a complaint that the said offices were alleged to be involved in civil matters”.

He stated that the officers allegedly “supervised, provided cover in the demolition of the petitioner’s residential property where he had lived for over 15 years”.

In the letter to the IGP, the PSC Chairman stated that on December 19, 2024, the police and enforcement staff from the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, went to the residence of the petitioner, Abubakar Yahaya, threw away his property and chased his family members out.

DIG Argungu also stated that the enforcement Unit of the High Court led by one Shamsudeen Ubandoma “took the sum of seven hundred thousand Naira (N700,000.00) from the petitioner under the guise or pretense of giving it to the Policemen who came with him for enforcement so that they won’t come back for enforcement again”.

He also said: “On the 16th of January 2025 some policemen with an enforcement team from the court, accompanied by one faceless Alhaji Usman Sarki – the purported owner of the plot on the said No 75 Lome Crescent, Wuse Zone 7 Abuja, under dispute in court, brought trucks and bulldozers which were used in the demolition of the petitioner’s residence.”

The PSC Chairman, in the letter, stated that the petitioner was arrested by the Officer in charge of the Legal Unit, Zone 7 Police Command for criminal conspiracy, trespass, and mischief, adding that N1 million was collected from him for securing his bail.

He stated that the faceless Alhaji Usman Sarki “is not known to the petitioner, as only his lawyers were always appearing on his behalf.

“The petitioner claimed that he has had the said plot of land for more than 15 years without any issue, developed the land, and has been in occupation of the residence without any hindrance.

“It is now very apparent that the demolition of his residence was done solely on the strength of the Police, led by the Officer in charge of the Legal Unit, who is meant to be a Police prosecutor but turned into a tool of oppression and aided by the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of Operations, who led the Police to demolish the petitioner’s residence without any justification or adhering to the principle of natural justice.”

The statement added that the PSC Chairman had stated in the letter that the petitioner’s prayers included “having been rendered homeless as a result of the act of the Officers-in-Charge of Legal Unit and the Deputy Commissioner in charge of Operations, who are the major culprits of this heinous act, that the duo should be investigated and appropriate sanctions meted on them, as well as the payment of one billion Naira for the action of the Police, as compensation”.