End Of The Road: Bribe Seeking Policeman Caught On Camera Dismissed From Police Force

A police sergeant, Chris Omeleze with Force Number 192954, who was caught on camera soliciting a bribe of N25,000 from a motorist in Lagos, has been dismissed from the Police Force.

In the raw footage which went viral on the internet soon as it hit the social media space, Mr. Omeleze was seen asking the unidentified driver to part with the sum of N25,000 for allegedly beating traffic light at Allen roundabout or have his car, a Range Rover utility jeep impounded.

The offender, whose face was not shown, could be heard pleading with the disgraced policeman to accept N2,000 as all he had on him was N5,000 after he had purportedly paid some fees at the airport for excess luggage, but the sergeant refused.

After all his entreaties fell on deaf ears, Sgt. Omeleze, who was on the passenger seat, called one Wasiu on his mobile phone and asked him to ‘book’ the motorist’s car as he had refused to part with the desired bribe money.

However, the policeman, who is attached to the State Traffic Division, Ikeja, was arrested on the orders of the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, after he saw the video.

The IGP also directed that the sergeant be given an orderly room trial and his case dealt with in record time.

It was learnt that the orderly room trial found the sergeant guilty of misconduct and recommended him for dismissal which the police commissioner, Mr. Umar Manko, approved immediately.

The sergeant, who has served in the Police Force for 21-Years, blamed his predicament on the devil.

He said, “I regret the incident, I have served in the police for 21 years.”

The Lagos State Police Spokesperson, Ngozi Braide, who confirmed the arrest of the suspect and his subsequent dismissal after an orderly room trial at the State Command in Ikeja, Lagos, said Omeleze’s action was ‘despicable and disgraceful.’

“He has been tried in orderly room and dismissed. His action was despicable and disgraceful and he is no longer fit to belong here (Police Force) because he is one of the bad eggs we need to weed out of the Nigeria Police Force,” Braide, a Deputy Superintendent of Police said.