Rivers: Police arrest four ‘officers’ for land grabbing

Four police officers were detained by Rivers State Police command agents in the early morning hours at Cedar Wood Estate off SARS Road in the state's Obio/Akpor Local Government Area for allegedly participating in land grabbing activities and illegally collecting tax from local land developers.

According to reports, on the basis of reliable intelligence, a group of police officers and more than 15 patrol vans from various tactical units of the command searched a structure where the suspects frequently camp inside the estate.

A person who wished to remain anonymous stated he saw the men from the tactical team that arrived for the arrest taking away four officers and a Hilux vehicle.

According to a local resident, the arrest came as a result of several petitions submitted by locals to the police commissioner, CP Eboka Friday, and the inspector general, IGP Usman Alkali Baba, regarding the unlawful acts of the purported policemen and the thugs who collaborate with them.

The homeowner, who described the officers' method of operation, claimed that they often visit sites where landowners are developing their property and demand payments starting at N100,000 or more. If the landowner refuses to pay, the officers will beat them up and tear down their fence.

Another local claimed that in some instances, the police and their goons seize the landlord's property and sell it to someone else.

The residents bemoaned their pain as a result of the officers' actions.

The locals applauded the police commissioner for detaining the policemen and urged him to see to it that they receive legal punishment for their actions.

At the time this story was filed, DSP Grace Iringe Koko, a spokesman for the Rivers State Police Command, had not responded to any texts sent to her phone.