Sodiq Oladebo, an admission seeker, recently experienced extortion by officers attached to the Osun State Police Command. However, following a viral report on the incident, Oladebo has now received a refund of the unlawfully taken N20,000.
The incident took place while Oladebo was traveling from Osun to Benin, Edo State. The victim himself brought the incident to public attention, prompting swift action from the authorities concerned.
After Gistreel initially reported on the extortion incident, Oladebo's brother, Suleman, confirmed to The Punch that the full amount extorted had been returned to his brother.
"They have refunded it just now. My brother just called me. I commend the Nigeria Police, especially the Force Public Relations Officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, and the Osun State Command's PRO for their efforts," revealed Suleman.
Previously, the Osun State Police Public Relations Officer, Yemisi Opalola, had urged Oladebo to contact her, assuring him that she had been actively working on the matter since becoming aware of it.
In a tweet, Opalola expressed her commitment to resolving the issue and requested the victim to reach out to her.
She tweeted:
"Since I heard about the extortion of the admission seeker by some policemen in Osun State, I have been working seriously on the matter and of course, I have made success. I want that victim to please call or chat with me."
Recalling the incident, Oladebo explained that while traveling along the Ilesa Expressway, their vehicle was stopped at a checkpoint by police officers. After conducting a search that yielded no incriminating items, the officers proceeded to intimidate Oladebo and demanded a sum of N100,000 from him, threatening to take him to the police station if he failed to comply.
Due to having only N99,000 in his Palm Pay application, which he intended to use for purchasing an Interim Joint Matriculation Board (IJMB) form for university admission, Oladebo eventually transferred N20,000 to a Point-of-Sale operator, as demanded by the officers.
With the refund of the extorted amount, Oladebo's ordeal has finally reached a satisfactory conclusion.