According to information available to NIGERIACRIME, the officers had abducted the man and took him outside the state where he was forced to transfer the said sum before he was released.
Confirming this development late Saturday, the Police spokesperson of the command, Grace Iringe-Koko, the suspected officers are in police custody pending the time investigation is carried out.
The arrest followed a revelation from an X user, Harrison Gwamnishu, on his handle, @HarrisonBbi18, who stated that “police officers attached to Rivers State Police Command left Port Harcourt to Aba, Abia State, arrested the man, took him to Bayelsa State and entered Ughelli, Delta State.
“After paying $3,000, they moved him (the man) back to Port Harcourt and dumped him.”
Though it was not clear what offence the man committed before he was accosted by the policemen, Iringe-Koko, a superintendent of police said an investigation into the matter was ongoing.
In a terse statement titled, “Re: $3,000 USDT Transferred To Police Officers Wallet,” the PPRO said, “The police personnel have been identified and arrested.
“Three of the officers are in custody while the investigation is in progress.”
She also promised to make the outcome of the investigation public as soon as it was concluded.
Meanwhile, the Lagos State Police Command says its operatives have arrested three suspected cultists in the Ishashi area of the state.
The command’s spokesperson, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, disclosed on Sunday.
Recall that the Commissioner of Police in Lagos, Mr Adegoke Fayoade, had promised to rid the state of criminals.
Hundeyin said the three suspects were arrested on Saturday at about 6.30 am by the police.
“The police got information that some boys were seen in military uniform disturbing the peace of the Oke-Odan community in Ishashi,” he said.
He explained that operatives from the Ishashi division were “quickly drafted” to the community and arrested the suspects who are between the ages of 24 and 39.
Hundeyin said investigation has begun and the suspects would soon be charged to court.