The police in Imo State have begun an orderly room trial of officers who allegedly demanded N100,000 bribe from 15-year-old rape victim in the state.
The police spokesperson in Imo State, Henry Okoye, disclosed this in a statement on Thursday.
PREMIUM TIMES earlier reported that the police summoned a divisional police officer (DPO) and an investigating police officer (IPO) serving in Imo State for questioning over the demand of N100,000 bribe from the rape victim.
The summon was in response to an outcry by the rape victim’s elder sister who uploaded a video clip on X handle detailing how the incident happened.
Orderly room trial
Mr Okoye, a deputy superintendent of police, said in the Thursday statement that the police authorities in the state later identified the officers involved in the case.
The police spokesperson explained that the officers were arrested and detained over “allegations of engaging in professional misconduct” in handling the rape case.
“An orderly room trial has been scheduled to commence on Monday, 12 January 2026, in line with extant police regulations,,” he said.
He did not, however, disclose the number and identities of the detained officers.
Arrest of the suspected rapist
Mr Okoye also said the police in the state have arrested the suspect who allegedly raped the 15-year-old girl.
The spokesperson identified the arrested suspect as Wisdom Onyeaju, a 24-year-old male of Umuekweye, Irete in Owerri-West Local Government Area of the state.
He said the suspect was arrested in response to a tip-off from the victim’s family who had earlier drawn public attention to the incident through a viral video uploaded on social media.
“The suspect is currently in custody and undergoing thorough investigation at the State Criminal Investigation Department.
“Upon conclusion of investigation, he will be arraigned in court with the appropriate charges,” he stated.
Background
On 3 January, a woman in a video clip uploaded on X, had said her sister, the victim, informed her via a phone call that an unidentified man invaded their family house and raped her while their siblings were attending a “masquerade” ceremony in an unnamed community in Imo State.
The man, she said, was armed with a knife which he used to force the victim to submission.
The woman said the victim and other siblings were in the village for Christmas celebration but that the victim chose to stay back alone when others left for the ceremony in the community.
“The person that had the forceful entry on her, threatened her, said a lot of things…holding a knife,” she had said.
She then claimed that officers at the police facility near Imo State Government House in Owerri demanded N100,000 from the victim and her family members who visited the facility to report the incident.
“Immediately, they went to the police station to lay a complaint (about the rape incident). On getting to the station, police (officers) told them that to be able to write their statement, they have to pay the sum of N100,000,” she had narrated.
In response, the Police Complaint Response Unit summoned the DPO of the facility and IPO for questioning over the incident.
“The Divisional Police Officer, GRA @ImoPoliceNG and the IPO (investigating police officer) have been summoned and will be in police Force Headquarters Abuja for questioning concerning this complaint by next week, thank you for contacting NPF-CRU,” the police had posted in response to the allegations in the clip.
Meanwhile, cases of police brutality, extortion and other unprofessional activities in Nigeria have continued despite sanctions by police authorities, such as dismissal from service.
In 2024, for instance, the police in Imo State ordered an orderly room trial of four officers seen in a viral video clip extorting motorists in the state.
In August of the same year, police operatives in Bayelsa State extorted N3 million from a Nigerian man at gunpoint the same year.
The officers were subsequently arrested after the victim petitioned police authorities.
The police operatives later returned the N3 million to the victim, about three weeks later.
