BENIN CITY — The Edo State Police Command has defaulted an entire patrol team and issued an official query to its team leader following an alleged extortion incident involving an Edo State Security Network (ESSN) vigilante operative along the Agbede axis in Etsako West Local Government Area.
The swift disciplinary action was triggered by a viral video circulating on social media platforms showing the vigilante operative at a highway checkpoint with an undisclosed sum of money reportedly extorted from passing motorists found in his possession.
Confirming the development in a statement issued in Benin City, the Police Public Relations Officer for the Edo State Command, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Eno Ikoedem, disclosed that the Area Commander in Auchi swiftly identified the vigilante operative and initiated a full-scale probe into the incident.
“The Edo State Police Command wishes to inform the general public of its investigation into a report of extortion by a vigilante personnel in a viral video showing him at a checkpoint along Agbede with some amount of money found in his possession,” Ikoedem stated.
She explained that beyond the individual operative, the entire police monitoring unit supervising the checkpoint has been defaulted, while the team leader was formally queried under the principle of vicarious liability.
The police spokesperson assured residents and road users that the command, under Commissioner of Police Patrick Daaor, maintains zero tolerance for professional misconduct, extortion, and abuse of authority by statutory officers or auxiliary security outfits.
“The command reiterates its unalloyed commitment to professionalism, accountability, and discipline in the discharge of its constitutional duties,” she added, urging members of the public to report erring personnel to the command’s Complaint Response Unit (CRU) or emergency control centers.
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