The Take It Back Movement has successfully intervened in securing justice for a 100-level student of Lagos State University (LASU), Izuchukwu Martins, who was abducted and extorted by rogue police operatives along the Abule Ado axis of Lagos.
Martins, a Political Science student, was on his way to visit his uncle when he was stopped by armed plain-clothed officers. He was forcibly dragged into a commercial minibus, commonly known as “Korope,” and held at gunpoint. Despite finding no incriminating evidence on him, the officers accused him of being an internet fraudster for owning a smartphone and having pictures of foreigners in his photo gallery. They eventually coerced him into transferring ₦500,000 to an Opay account provided by the officers.
Following the incident, the Lagos State Coordinator of the Take It Back Movement, Adekunle Adeyemi Taofeek, swiftly took action. The movement filed a formal petition at the Area E Command of the Nigeria Police, demanding an immediate investigation into the unlawful arrest and extortion.
According to Taofeek, the Area Commander acted promptly on the petition by ordering a raid on the notorious checkpoint where the incident occurred.
The provost, dispatched by the command, was able to arrest two of the officers involved while others fled, abandoning their four operational minibuses used for the illegal activities.
Martins was invited to identify the officers, who were subsequently compelled to write official statements.
Following the intervention and pressure from Take It Back Movement, Lagos chapter, the extorted ₦500,000 was refunded to the victim.
Taofeek also revealed that he had instructed the South-West PRO of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Comrade Kuku Isaiah Eromidayo, to accompany Martins to the police command. Their collaboration further point up the unified stance against the brutality and extortion.
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