A resident of Jos, Plateau State, who identified himself as Michael, has expressed his distress over being accused of cybercrime and extortion by members of the Anti-Kidnapping Unit at the Anglo-Jos Police Division. In a series of posts shared on social media platform ‘X’ last Friday, Michael, a cryptocurrency trader who opted to protect his identity, recounted an incident where officers abruptly entered his estate on Thursday evening and detained all the male residents for questioning.

Accompanying his narrative with a screenshot of two debit transfers made on Friday morning, Michael revealed that they were coerced into giving up a sum exceeding N500,000 before they were released from custody. In an interview with Sunday Special, he disclosed that the officers initially framed them for cybercrimes and armed robbery, eventually detaining five out of the seven residents in a cell.

Michael detailed the events, stating, “These policemen arrived at my estate around 7 pm on Thursday, claiming they had received reports of kidnapping activities in the vicinity and needed to question us at the station. Subsequently, all the men in the estate were rounded up.”

He continued, “We were taken from Mazaram, in Rayfield, to the Anti-Kidnapping Unit of the Anglo Jos Police Division. Upon our arrival at the station, the narrative changed, and we were accused of involvement in cybercrimes. They insisted, ‘You are engaging in Yahoo (internet fraud),’ but I vehemently denied any such involvement, as I had no knowledge of it. They demanded that we draft statements confessing to being either cultists or armed robbers. We all refused to provide statements without the presence of our legal counsel, leading to our unjust detention in a cell. I spent the night in a cell for a crime I knew nothing about.”

“In the morning,” Michael continued, “we were coerced into paying a total of N500,000. There were seven occupants in our group, and five of us were detained. Consequently, we had to pool our resources to meet the demanded payment. We were escorted to a Point of Sale, where N100,000 was extracted from me, with the remainder sourced from other residents in the estate.”

When questioned about the incident, the State Police Public Relations Officer, Alfred Alabo, responded, stating, “I cannot comment on a case that has not been investigated. I anticipated that Michael would have reported the incident to me instead of resorting to social media. We will initiate an inquiry into the matter, identify the involved officers, and ascertain the veracity of his claims.”

He added, “There is a Divisional Police Officer and officers assigned to the Anglo-Jos division where this incident occurred. The affected individuals should visit the police headquarters on Monday, so we can address their grievances.”