Features
How protesters against Edo police misconducts stumbled on motorist extorted N10,000, immediately retrieved money
Written By: Emmanuel Ikhenebome
24 Dec 2025 04:41 AM
Benin, Edo – In a damning indictment of systemic corruption within the Edo State Police Command, activists from the Bail is Free Campaign Organisation have exposed yet another brazen case of police extortion, fueling widespread outrage and calls for the immediate removal of Commissioner of Police Monday Agbonika.
The incident, which unfolded on December 22 during a peaceful "festival of protest" march toward the governor's office, highlights the predatory tactics of officers who treat citizens as cash cows rather than protect them, underscoring a rotten leadership that has allowed such abuses to fester unchecked.
DAILY South Nigeria accounts from the scene paint a picture of outright thuggery at the Adesuwa Divisional Police Headquarters.
A distraught motorist, driving out of the station, approached protesters to report being fleeced of 10,000 Naira by officers for failing to produce his vehicle registration on the spot.
Despite complying by retrieving the document and returning, the victim was allegedly shaken down again for the same amount, a total extortion of 10,000 Naira in what activists describe as a shameless shakedown.
This is not an isolated blunder but a symptom of a command riddled with greed and impunity, where officers operate like highway robbers in uniform.
Oni Edigin, Coordinator General of the Bail is Free Campaign Organisation, swiftly directed Secretary General Leftist Dickson John Esq. to intervene.
The response from the gate officers was predictably hostile: they barred entry, escalating tensions to the brink of violence in a pathetic bid to cover up their fraud.
Only the intervention of an internal officer, who overheard the commotion and escorted the group to a superior, averted a full-blown clash.
After protracted pleadings, a humiliating process no citizen should endure the extorted funds were grudgingly refunded, leaving the victim beaming with relief but the public seething with anger.
In a scathing statement, Leftist Dickson John Esq. minced no words: "This is but a little of some of the things Nigerians go through in the hands of these overzealous police officers hence CP Monday Agbonika must leave Edo State, remember! Once the head is bad, the whole body becomes useless. The DPO of Adesuwa Divisional Police Headquarters must be made to know that power belongs to the people."
His words echo a broader sentiment under Agbonika's watch, where the Edo Police Command has devolved into a den of extortionists, preying on vulnerable citizens while betraying their oath to serve and protect.
This latest scandal is no anomaly. Edo State has been plagued by a litany of similar outrages under Agbonika's tenure.
In September, officers extorted 300,000 Naira from a furniture maker, prompting the command to recover the funds and promise sanctions, an empty vows that have done little to stem the tide.
Just months earlier, in August, six officers faced dismissal for extorting 2 million Naira, while another case saw a serving officer and civilians arrested for armed robbery and extortion.
These repeated failures expose a command in moral freefall, where accountability is a farce and corruption thrives from the top down. Civil society groups like Bail is Free have repeatedly protested such abuses, including unlawful arrests and merchandise of bail, a practice explicitly illegal yet rampant in Nigeria.
Critics argue that Agbonika's leadership has normalized this culture of exploitation, turning police stations into extortion rackets that erode public trust and fuel social unrest.
"The Edo Police Command is a disgrace," said one local resident who witnessed the December 22 incident, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal.
"If the commissioner can't rein in his officers, he should be booted out before more lives are ruined.", she added
As protests swell with placards demanding "Bail is free, stop the merchandise" and "Edo CP must go," the pressure mounts on national authorities to act.
The Bail is Free Campaign, led by figures like Edigin and John, vows to continue exposing these injustices until real reform takes hold.
For now, the Edo State Police Command stands as a stark reminder of how bad leadership poisons an entire institution, leaving citizens to fend for themselves against the very forces meant to safeguard them.
The incident, which unfolded on December 22 during a peaceful "festival of protest" march toward the governor's office, highlights the predatory tactics of officers who treat citizens as cash cows rather than protect them, underscoring a rotten leadership that has allowed such abuses to fester unchecked.
DAILY South Nigeria accounts from the scene paint a picture of outright thuggery at the Adesuwa Divisional Police Headquarters.
A distraught motorist, driving out of the station, approached protesters to report being fleeced of 10,000 Naira by officers for failing to produce his vehicle registration on the spot.
Despite complying by retrieving the document and returning, the victim was allegedly shaken down again for the same amount, a total extortion of 10,000 Naira in what activists describe as a shameless shakedown.
This is not an isolated blunder but a symptom of a command riddled with greed and impunity, where officers operate like highway robbers in uniform.
Oni Edigin, Coordinator General of the Bail is Free Campaign Organisation, swiftly directed Secretary General Leftist Dickson John Esq. to intervene.
The response from the gate officers was predictably hostile: they barred entry, escalating tensions to the brink of violence in a pathetic bid to cover up their fraud.
Only the intervention of an internal officer, who overheard the commotion and escorted the group to a superior, averted a full-blown clash.
After protracted pleadings, a humiliating process no citizen should endure the extorted funds were grudgingly refunded, leaving the victim beaming with relief but the public seething with anger.
In a scathing statement, Leftist Dickson John Esq. minced no words: "This is but a little of some of the things Nigerians go through in the hands of these overzealous police officers hence CP Monday Agbonika must leave Edo State, remember! Once the head is bad, the whole body becomes useless. The DPO of Adesuwa Divisional Police Headquarters must be made to know that power belongs to the people."
His words echo a broader sentiment under Agbonika's watch, where the Edo Police Command has devolved into a den of extortionists, preying on vulnerable citizens while betraying their oath to serve and protect.
This latest scandal is no anomaly. Edo State has been plagued by a litany of similar outrages under Agbonika's tenure.
In September, officers extorted 300,000 Naira from a furniture maker, prompting the command to recover the funds and promise sanctions, an empty vows that have done little to stem the tide.
Just months earlier, in August, six officers faced dismissal for extorting 2 million Naira, while another case saw a serving officer and civilians arrested for armed robbery and extortion.
These repeated failures expose a command in moral freefall, where accountability is a farce and corruption thrives from the top down. Civil society groups like Bail is Free have repeatedly protested such abuses, including unlawful arrests and merchandise of bail, a practice explicitly illegal yet rampant in Nigeria.
Critics argue that Agbonika's leadership has normalized this culture of exploitation, turning police stations into extortion rackets that erode public trust and fuel social unrest.
"The Edo Police Command is a disgrace," said one local resident who witnessed the December 22 incident, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal.
"If the commissioner can't rein in his officers, he should be booted out before more lives are ruined.", she added
As protests swell with placards demanding "Bail is free, stop the merchandise" and "Edo CP must go," the pressure mounts on national authorities to act.
The Bail is Free Campaign, led by figures like Edigin and John, vows to continue exposing these injustices until real reform takes hold.
For now, the Edo State Police Command stands as a stark reminder of how bad leadership poisons an entire institution, leaving citizens to fend for themselves against the very forces meant to safeguard them.
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