By Peter Onyekachukwu 
By Peter Onyekachukwu
Human rights activist, Comrade Israel Joe, has called on the Delta State Police Command to prosecute its officers who allegedly collected N500,000 from a woman arrested with an 11-year-old girl for illicit drugs.
Comrade Joe made the call in a telephone chat with our correspondent in Warri.
He noted that the woman and the minor, who were first arrested by policemen from Ekpan Division, had been transferred to Asaba, possibly for prosecution.
Comrade Joe said he was not against prosecuting the suspect and the minor but insisted that the police were “shielding” their men instead of prosecuting them alongside the woman.
Citing Section 98 of the Criminal Code, he explained that the offence of giving or receiving such money attracts imprisonment, stressing that “it’s official corruption.”
He further pointed out that Section 99 provides a three-year jail term for public officials who receive such money.
The activist recalled that the matter became public after the human rights community raised alarm over the alleged arrest and release of the woman and the minor.
He alleged that the police later went to rearrest the woman, saying, “they want to prosecute the woman and the minor after her release.”
“On what condition was she released in the first instance?” he asked.
According to him, “The PPRO in a statement said the Command is investigating the allegations by the woman. On the issues about the policemen, he was mute. Instead, he focused on the minor and the mother.”
Comrade Joe also said the Ekpan Division had become notorious for extortion, stressing the need for the Delta State Police Command led by CP Olufemi Abaniwonda to checkmate its men and tackle issues of extortion, which he noted were damaging the image of the Police Force.