A Kogi-born software designer, AbdulRazak Adeniyi Aliyu, has shared his distressing experience with the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) on social media. Aliyu narrated how he was arrested in Lokoja, Kogi State, for a crime he did not commit and subsequently taken to Asaba, Delta State, while his lawyer was in the process of perfecting his bail conditions.
In a series of posts on his X (formerly Twitter) handle, Aliyu detailed the events:
“On Monday, July 1, 2024, I was arrested by men of the NSCDC in Lokoja, Kogi State, for a crime I clearly didn’t commit. After extorting N330,000 from me, they quickly whisked me away in a bus in the presence of my mother and sister without informing them of my destination. My lawyer was in the process of finalizing my bail conditions when they hurriedly took me from Lokoja.”
Aliyu explained that his family later discovered he had been taken to the NSCDC office in Asaba, Delta State, and that he had been held there since Monday without trial, fair hearing, or any hope of justice.
He also accused two NSCDC officers, identified as Susan and Major, of extorting N330,000 from him under the pretense of tracking the actual culprits to clear his name. Aliyu’s ordeal highlights ongoing issues of alleged misconduct and corruption within law enforcement agencies in Nigeria.