A serving member of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Charles Mbaogu, has accused officers attached to Ladegboye Police Station in Ikorodu, Lagos, of illegal detention, attempted extortion, and reckless endangerment following what began as a routine traffic stop.
Mbaogu alleged that the incident occurred on Saturday, February 28, at about 10 a.m., while he and his girlfriend were travelling from Ikeja to Epe.
According to him, they were stopped along Ijede Road, Ikorodu, by officers who requested his vehicle documents and driver’s licence. He said he complied fully, presenting all required documents, including his first aid box.
“After confirming my documents were complete, the officer began asking personal questions about my tribe, state of origin, where I was coming from, and what I was doing in Lagos,” Mbaogu said.
He explained that he identified himself as a serving NYSC corps member and presented his NYSC identity card. However, he claimed the officers doubted its authenticity and ordered him to log into his NYSC portal to verify his status.
Mbaogu further alleged that officers accessed his phone and went through his private chats and documents without his consent. He said after seeing a conversation with a colleague related to app development work, the officers accused him of being involved in internet fraud.
“At one point, the main officer claimed he saw money in my Bybit account and demanded that I send him $1,000. I refused,” he said, adding that the officers continued to intimidate and pressure him.
He said the officers threatened to take him to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). However, when he repeatedly agreed to be taken to the anti-graft agency if he had committed any offence, they allegedly declined and instead drove him around for hours.
Mbaogu claimed the officers commandeered his vehicle, forcing him into the back seat while an officer took over the wheel. His girlfriend was allegedly left in the passenger seat and later had her phone confiscated when she attempted to contact him.
During the ordeal, which he said lasted over six hours, Mbaogu alleged that his girlfriend, fearing for her safety due to the officers’ reckless driving, jumped out of the moving vehicle to seek help, sustaining injuries to her leg.
He further alleged that his car was damaged in the process, with scratches, a displaced taillight, and unusual rattling sounds from the roof and tyres.
The corps member said he was eventually taken back to the police station, where he endured about two hours of interrogation over allegations that he had hacked a colleague’s ATM card. He maintained that the allegation stemmed from a legitimate app debugging issue, for which his colleague had shared his card details voluntarily.
According to him, even after his colleague confirmed this over the phone, the officers persisted with the interrogation.
Mbaogu also alleged that officers pressured him to write a statement indicating that the matter had been “settled,” which he refused. He claimed he was subjected to a search for drugs and weapons, but nothing incriminating was found.
Before his release, he alleged that officers tore his NYSC ID card and threw away his NYSC cap.
His girlfriend, who reportedly borrowed a stranger’s phone to contact him after her device was taken, was said to have sustained bruises from jumping out of the vehicle.
Reacting to the allegations, the spokesperson of the Lagos State Police Command, Benjamin Hundeyin, said the command would look into the matter.
As of the time of filing this report, the police had yet to issue a detailed response to the specific claims of illegal detention, attempted extortion, and property damage.