Court convicts Police Officers for Collecting Bribe from Armed Robbers

An Oyo State High Court, sitting in Ibadan, has convicted three former police officers, and sentenced one of them to three years in jail for collecting bribe from an armed robbery suspect, Badmus Akojode.

The convicted police officers are Tajudeen Olalere, Akanmu Kabiru and Omotosho Lawrence, but it was only Kabiru that was committed to three years in prison by the trial judge, Justice A. I. Akintola. Olalere and Lawrence could not be sentenced by the court because they had earlier jumped bail.

The ex-police officers were arraigned by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) on a four-count charge bordering on asking and receiving gratification from a suspect in the course of investigating a robbery case.

The Commission told the court that the offence was committed in May, 2007 when the police officers asked for and received the sum of N200, 000 from Akojode in order to exonerate him from an armed robbery case they were investigating.

ICPC further said the offence contravened Sections 8 (1) (a), and 26 (1) (c) of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000 and punishable under Section 8 (1)(b) of the same act.

The accused who had earlier pleaded not guilty when the charge was read to them were nonetheless found culpable by the court, therefore prompting the judge to sentence one of them to prison while those that had jumped bail would be made to face the music once apprehended.