The Nigeria Police Force has dismissed a former Police Inspector, Edith Uduma, for gross misconduct and complicity surrounding the alleged rape of a 17-year-old female suspect by a Police Sergeant, Abraham Uzuobo, in Edo State.
The NPF also dismissed Uzuobo.
The Force Public Relations Officer, ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, made this known in a statement on Wednesday, November 27, 2024.
It would be recalled that a viral video on social media showed a Police Sergeant alleged to have raped a female suspect in the station where Uduma was the Charge Room Officer (CRO) on duty on October 7, 2024.
Adejobi disclosed that a thorough investigation into the matter conducted by the Edo State Police Command revealed that Sergeant Uzuobo removed the victim from the cell and took her to an unoccupied office, where he attempted to engage in sexual acts with the teenager.
He stated: “During the act, Uduma had walked in and recorded the act. However, instead of immediately making a documented entry on the matter in the Incident Record of the Station which was under her charge, and thereafter reporting the incident to the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) for disciplinary actions to be initiated against the erring officer, she took advantage of the situation to enrich herself by calling her husband, Ibrahim Mohammed, who was also a Police Inspector, both of whom conspired to unlawfully demand the sum of N1 million from the Sergeant to assist him in concealing the matter.
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“However, the Sergeant offered only N45,000 in cash which they collected at that instance and after a few days, contacted the Sergeant to request the same sum of N1,000,000, but the Sergeant refused to comply. Dissatisfied by his refusal to follow through with the blackmail, they decided to report the erring officer to the DPO and also simultaneously share the video on social media.
“Everyone culpable in this case has been sanctioned appropriately as there is no intention to impede justice. The erring Sergeant has been dismissed and prosecuted and is currently in prison custody as the trial progresses. Inspector Edith Uduma was also dismissed for her role, while her complicit husband has been reduced to the rank of Sergeant.”
Adejobi stated that it has however come to the attention of the Force that Uduma, after her dismissal, made numerous “unfounded claims regarding her innocence and has sought to taint the reputation and integrity of the adjudicating authority, the Inspector-General of Police in person, and the entire Police Force.”
The police spokesperson noted that Uduma’s dismissal was not only justified but necessary, based on the investigations that presented evidence of her failure to follow standard incident report protocol to immediately document the incident, attempt to conceal an offender for benefit, participation in extortion, and manipulating the justice process for personal gain.
Adejobi stressed that the NPF, under the leadership of the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, stands firmly against any form of misconduct, “particularly in cases of such grave nature involving vulnerable victims”.
“The Force maintains a zero-tolerance policy toward corruption, blackmail, and any behaviour that seeks to pervert the cause of justice. The actions of the dismissed officer were in direct violation of the values and standards upheld by the Nigeria Police Force, and other extant laws of Nigeria,” the police spokesman added.
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