Imo Police Order Probe Into Viral Allegations Of JTF Extortion, Secret Bush Operations Along Owerri–Port Harcourt Road

Imo Police Order Probe Into Viral Allegations Of JTF Extortion, Secret Bush Operations Along Owerri–Port Harcourt Road

According to her, during one of the incidents, the operatives searched the phones and bags of passengers, including female travellers, before allowing the vehicle to continue.

The Imo State Police Command has ordered an investigation into a viral video alleging that members of a Joint Task Force (JTF) operating along the Port Harcourt–Ngor Okpala–Owerri Road have been taking young male travellers into hidden bush locations, searching their phones and forcing them to transfer money into their accounts.

In a statement issued on Thursday, and shared on X handle, the Commissioner of Police, Imo State Command, CP Audu Garba Bosso, directed the Command’s X-Squad and Complaint Response Unit (CRU) to investigate complaints against the JTF, which comprises personnel from multiple security agencies.

 

The Commissioner of Police, Imo State Command, CP Audu Garba Bosso, psc(+), mnips, has directed the Command’s X-Squad and Complaint Response Unit (CRU) to investigate complaints against the Joint Task Force (JTF), comprising all security agencies. Members of the public with https://t.co/rs4V7WB2xW

— Imo State Police Command (@ImoPoliceNG) July 29, 2026

The command asked members of the public with complaints to report to the police headquarters or call the designated numbers: 08148047555 and +234 803 342 4051.

“The Command assures that anyone found culpable after investigation will face appropriate disciplinary action,” the statement said.

The police reaction followed the circulation of a video shared on X by social media user Somto Okonkwo, in which a female student of a higher institution in Owerri recounted two encounters with security operatives along the Ngor Okpala axis.

In the video, the student alleged that buses travelling from Port Harcourt to Owerri were routinely stopped by JTF operatives, who separated male passengers from others and took them into a bush where their phones and belongings were searched.

According to her, during one of the incidents, the operatives searched the phones and bags of passengers, including female travellers, before allowing the vehicle to continue.

She alleged that during a second encounter, two male passengers were taken into the bush while other passengers waited by the roadside for nearly an hour.

The student said one of the young men was later released, but the other remained with the operatives for a much longer period.

When he eventually returned to the vehicle, he allegedly told other passengers that although nothing incriminating was found on his phone, the operatives had checked deleted files and accused him of internet fraud after seeing transaction records.

According to the account, the young man was compelled to transfer N30,000 before he was allowed to leave.

The student further alleged that commercial drivers who frequently ply the route told passengers that such extortion was common along the Ngor Okpala corridor.

She claimed that the amount demanded often depended on the balance in a traveller’s bank account, with some victims allegedly forced to transfer much larger sums, sometimes exceeding N100,000.

The video also contained allegations that some passengers who could not make immediate transfers were threatened with being taken to a separate location described as a bush camp or office where further pressure would be applied.

SaharaReporters could not independently verify the allegations contained in the video as of the time of filing this report.

However, the claims have triggered widespread reactions online, with many users calling for an independent investigation into the conduct of security personnel operating along the road.

The Owerri–Port Harcourt highway, particularly the Ngor Okpala axis, is one of the busiest transport corridors linking Imo and Rivers states and is heavily used by students, traders, workers and inter-state commuters.

Human rights groups have repeatedly raised concerns about allegations of unlawful stop-and-search operations, phone checks and extortion by security operatives on highways across the country, although security agencies often maintain that such operations are aimed at combating kidnapping, armed robbery, cultism and cybercrime.

The Imo Police Command said the ongoing investigation would determine whether any officer or operative involved in the alleged operations violated the law or the rules guiding security checkpoints and joint operations.