A resident of Delta State, Mrs. Gladys Ubogu Okeoghene, has petitioned the Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG), Zone 5 Police Headquarters, Benin, seeking justice over alleged exploitation by policemen.

According to Mrs. Okeoghene, her family’s two cars, a GLK 350 and a C400, were stolen in 2022 after being handed over to a mechanic, Mr. Solomon David Orshieda, for repairs.

Orshieda allegedly sold the cars and fled to Kenya.

When Mrs. Okeoghene contacted the Nigeria Police Force (Area Command) in October 2024, she was allegedly directed to pay a total of N2,186,000 for the recovery of the vehicles.

The payment included costs for “office movement” and “tracking.”

However, she alleged that despite paying the requested amount, the police refused to release one of the recovered vehicles, the C400, and instead demanded additional payment.

Furthermore, Mrs. Okeoghene said she was not informed nor consulted when the police granted bail to the suspects, including Orshieda.

She lamented that the IPO handling the case had been intimidating and threatening her, and that her recovered vehicle remained seized by the police.

Mrs. Okeoghene is now seeking justice and calling for an investigation into the allegations.

She called the attention of the International Human Rights Commission, IHRC, and the US Institute of Diplomacy and Human Rights, Nigeria Office.

In a swift reaction, Delta State Police Command, led by CP Olufemi Abaniwonda, while speaking through the Police Public Relations Officer, SP Bright denied the allegations.

SP Edafe explained that, “We arrested everybody involved and recovered one of the vehicles, only for the main suspect to appear with proof that he bought both vehicles from the woman’s son and the son even sent him the original customs papers.

“When she found out that her son sold the vehicles, she ran away with her son from the police station and started making wrong petitions up and down.”