By Nick Ibe, Abuja

For extorting N53,000 from the Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, Dr Musa Aliyu (SAN), during an illegal stop-and-search operation in Abuja, four police officers have been detained by the Federal Capital Territory Police Command.

Ahmed Sanusi, the FCT Commissioner of Police, made the disclosure on Monday, 20 July, 2026 while briefing journalists in Abuja. He called the officers “thieves” who had no business wearing the police uniform.

He said that the officers mounted an unauthorised checkpoint around the Banex area of Wuse after leaving their respective duty posts and extorted the ICPC chairman without knowing his identity.

Sanusi added that the ICPC boss was forced to withdraw N53,000 through a Point of Sale operator and even paid the transaction charges before the officers shared the money among themselves. In his words:

“I must say here too that we have about four policemen in custody as we speak who successfully extorted somebody of high importance, unknown to them that this person is a highly placed person in society. In clear terms, they extorted the Chairman of the ICPC.

“They extorted him of N53,000. They took him to a POS, he withdrew the money, paid the charges and they shared the money among themselves.”

The police commissioner said investigations revealed that the officers had abandoned their designated duty posts and formed a gang that mounted an illegal checkpoint to extort motorists.

“They are a gang of criminals who left various divisions, clustered together, moved to Wuse Banex and created a checkpoint where they perpetrated this act before fleeing,” he said.

“We got all of them. We are going to make sure they are severely punished. Those that are going to be dismissed will definitely be dismissed,” he added.

The commissioner reiterated that the Inspector-General of Police had prohibited indiscriminate search of citizens’ mobile phones by officers on patrol.

He advised residents to refuse any unlawful demand by policemen to search their phones on the roadside and immediately report such incidents through the police emergency lines.

“You cannot stop anybody on the road and ask the person to bring out his phone for search. If any policeman stops you and asks to search your phone, don’t agree. Call the police emergency lines and we will ask them why,” Sanusi said.

He urged members of the public to promptly report cases of extortion and other misconduct by police personnel, assuring that offenders would be tracked down and sanctioned.

By Felix Umande, Makurdi

The Benue State Police Command has dismissed reports of bandits mounting roadblocks and attacking motorists along the Makurdi-Lafia highway, describing the claims as false and aimed at causing panic.

Commissioner of Police, CP Cletus Nwadiogbu, disclosed this on Friday during a press briefing in Makurdi.

He said patrol teams were immediately deployed to the highway after the report surfaced but found no evidence of any attack or illegal roadblock.

“Vehicular movement remained uninterrupted throughout the period. We urge the public to disregard what was circulated by mischief makers,” Nwadiogbu said.

The commissioner also gave an update on the investigation into the assassination of Professor Gabriel Saawuan Nyityo and his younger brother, Iorngee John Nyityo, killed in Adaka community, Makurdi, on July 8.

According to him, investigations have established that the killings were a premeditated assassination and not a robbery.

Nwadiogbu said the principal suspect, 23-year-old Abdullahi Usman from Nasarawa State, was arrested at an NDLEA checkpoint in Lafia barely four hours after the incident.

He added that collaboration with the Department of State Services, DSS, and other security agencies in Nasarawa State had led to the arrest of additional suspects linked to the crime. Efforts, he noted, are ongoing to apprehend alleged local collaborators believed to have aided the attackers.

The police boss highlighted other arrests made by the command in recent weeks including 10 suspects arrested in connection with the killing of two Fulani leaders in Ohimini Local Government Area. Suspected armed robbers and kidnappers neutralised during separate operations in Makurdi, Katsina-Ala and Logo, with arms and ammunition recovered. One suspect arrested in connection with the Otukpo-Nobi attack. 12 suspected cultists apprehended during an annual gathering in Gboko.

Nwadiogbu appealed to residents to ignore fake news and to support security agencies with credible and timely information.

From Terkura Vande in Makurdi

Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule on Monday, commissioned the 12.4 kilometre Agwada-Udege road in Kokona Local Government Area, LGA, of the state.

He also stated that government was expecting a special allocation of about $10 million dollars, before the end of the year, that it intends to plough into community development projects.

Describing the construction of the road, as yet another major step in his administration’s drive to open up rural communities across the state, Sule explained that the funds, which would be committed to development projects, would be done in consultation with community leaders.

The double coat surface dressing, road, that links Udege-Mbeki in Kokona LGA, to Agwada, he noted is expected to cut travel time between Kokona and Nasarawa LGA, by about one and a half hours.

According to him, the project builds on the earlier commissioning of the 23-kilometre Mararaban Kokona to Agwada road, as part of the continued commitment of the administration to rural road connectivity.

The governor therefore explained that the road would ease the movement of farm produce and other goods from rural communities to urban centres, as well as boost economic activities, particularly for the agriculture and mining sectors of the state.

Sule commended the contractor for completing the project without any cost increase, stressing that his administration maintains a firm policy against contract variation once terms are agreed.

Commenting on developments in the mining sector, the governor explained that he just visited the United States, and this has drawn renewed attention to the state’s solid minerals potential, particularly critical metals, with American investors and government officials showing interest in the resources of the state.

While he pointed out that the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Dele Alake, is expected to travel to the US shortly to further discussions on his earlier visit to the country, Sule said, he would soon be travelling to China to explore further investment opportunities for the state.

On the state’s participation in the lithium industry, the governor said Nasarawa is expecting a special allocation of not less than $10 million USD,.before the end of the year, and assured that the funds would be committed to community development projects in consultation with community leaders, particularly in the Nasarawa and Endo areas.

The Governor who also spoke on the state’s improved revenue position, noted that monthly federal allocations to the state have risen significantly in recent months, a development he linked to improved national revenue performance.

Stating that the increased resources has enabled the state to accelerate work on several road projects, he said this include plans to fast-track the construction work on the Nasarawa- Eggon-Mada station road and the Nasarawa-Ara road.

In his remarks, Managing Director, Nasarawa State Bureau for Rural Development, Engineer Muhammad Sani Sidi, said the Bureau has so far completed 316.907 kilometres of rural roads across the state, with an additional 133.25 kilometres currently ongoing.

He commended Governor Sule for consistently providing the Bureau with the resources and equipment needed to deliver quality projects.

Speaking at the occasion, Chairman, Kokona LGA, Agbawu Mek Agbawu, thanked Governor Sule for prioritising rural development in the local government.

He also urged residents to protect the road and report any defects promptly for timely government intervention.