Police demand bribe from distraught parents
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Distraught parents whose five children were kidnapped on 11 February in the Rukpakulusi axis of Eliozu in Rivers State are having their trauma piled upon by the police whom they say asked for N200,000 bribe to trace the kids.
“They [the police] are not working on this case. When we went there, they asked us to bring money …. They said we should bring N200,000 so they could find where the [abductor] lives,” one of the parents lamented.
The children, aged between 18 months and four years, were abducted by their home lesson teacher after she asked them to follow her to where she would buy them writing materials.
The father of two of the children, Emmanuel Benjamin, said the police at Okporo station demanded N200,000 from him and the other parents to speed up investigation and track the suspect.
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Whereabouts of kids unknown
Emmanuel expressed sadness over the incident, saying he did not know the state of health of his boys identified as Idara and Emem.
“I have not seen my children since that day. I feel bad. There is nobody that will not feel bad if such a thing happens to them. I can’t even sleep and I am not happy at all,” he told The PUNCH on Tuesday.
“They [the police] are not working on this case. When we went there, they asked us to bring money.
“I went to Okporo police station. They said we should bring money and the phone number that they would track. They said we should bring N200,000 so they could find where the woman lives. But I don’t have that kind of money. I am not a big man.”
State Police Command acting spokesperson Grace Iringe-Koko could not be reached for comment.