A banker has narrated how he was abducted and extorted by supposed men of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) in Lagos.
The young man, who tweets from @anapz10, said he was on his way to the US Consulate in Victoria Island on June 10 when he was accosted by the SARS officials close to the gate of the consulate.
According to him, the SARS officials asked him to identify himself and he did so with his work identification card and even explained that he was almost late for an appointment at the consulate.
The Ibadan-based banker said that the SARS officials however refused to listen to his explanation but pushed him into their waiting van instead.
He added that the men demanded N200,000 but he was compelled to transfer N35,000 to them in order not to miss his appointment.
The banker wrote, “I wonder if there is still any hope for this country, I got my own share of the SARS intimidation & harassment last week Monday, June 10.
“Close to d front of d US embassy at VI, Lagos I came down from the keke (tricycle), (and) as I was making my way into the embassy, I was stopped and accosted by 3 SARS guys.
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“They asked me ‘who are u’? I identified myself through my work ID card I was carrying and I explained to them I have an appointment at d US Embassy in the next 27 mins.
“Suddenly one of them shouted ‘we would delay you and make you miss your appointment if u don’t cooperate.
“At this point I was confused, like how else am I supposed to respond or cooperate?
“The same guy that shouted came close to me and snatched my folder containing my documents and dragged me into their van.
“I was still shocked n surprised. So they drove to nearby police post.
“I kept reminding them I can’t afford to miss my appointment which is in like 10 mins. The SARS guys knowing how important my appointment is held on to my documents and said they won’t release it to me until I settled them with #200,000.
“At this point I was speechless and in more shock.
“I kept checking my time n reminding them about my appointment..
“To cut d story short, one of them called me aside and said he knows how important this my appointment is that I should not jeopardise my chance at d Embassy.
“He said ‘how much u get?’ (and) told him I only have 2k cash with me.
“For d sake of my appointment at the embassy I was made to make a fund transfer of #35,000 into one them: Name. Blessing Macklon, Access bank – 0763903325, before my docs were released to me.
“I got back to d embassy late but was still able to meet up.
“This is not d Nigeria of our dream. This is not d Nigeria we all hope to boast of.
“I won’t rest until I get down this person I have d details. I work in a bank, that’s why I was able to dig more details. The recipient of the N35,000 is a female…”