A video that recently went viral on social media has ignited widespread public outrage, showing a Nigerian police officer demanding bribes from motorists along the Benin Bypass in Benin City, Edo State. The footage, reportedly shared by X user @Teeniiola on a Sunday, captures the officer soliciting either ₦5,000 or five litres of fuel from travellers for Electronic Central Motor Registry (ECMR) documents, a policy whose enforcement had previously been suspended by police authorities.

In the video, the officer, standing beside a police vehicle with other officers present, confronted a group of travellers, insisting on seeing proof of ECMR registration. When one motorist challenged the demand, pointing out that ECMR checks had been halted, the officer reportedly replied, “You can make your calls,” before asking for five litres of fuel instead. Further interactions revealed the officer was seeking the ₦5,000 equivalent from each vehicle. He was also heard requesting three litres of fuel from another driver. According to one report, after negotiations, motorists ended up paying N3,000 for three litres of fuel.

The widely circulated incident has stirred significant public anger, with many Nigerians online describing it as another example of systemic abuse, roadside extortion, and an erosion of trust between the police and citizens. Concerns have been reignited over unchecked misconduct among law enforcement personnel.

In response to the backlash, the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has taken action. Force Public Relations Officer, ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, strongly condemned the behaviour in a statement. He announced that the officers involved have been identified and summoned to the Force Headquarters in Abuja for necessary disciplinary action. “This action is utterly condemned... We will not tolerate any act of indiscipline or unprofessionalism. We will update the public on our decisions as soon as possible,” Adejobi stated on X (formerly Twitter) on a subsequent Tuesday.

Similarly, the spokesperson for the Delta State Police Command, SP Edafe Bright, expressed his dismay over the officer's conduct. “My God. Thanks for recording this. Little by little, all the moles will be taken out of the system,” Bright posted on X. “All these policemen bringing shame to us, one by one, they will be sent out of the organisation. Maybe when they become jobless, they will go into content creation. This is embarrassing, and the force is on it.”

The controversy has brought renewed scrutiny to the ECMR system itself. The e-CMR is intended as a real-time online archive of vehicle data to aid police investigations and combat vehicle-related crimes, with vehicle owners expected to register for certificates. However, in July 2024, the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, ordered an immediate suspension of the enforcement of ECMR certificates. This decision followed considerable public backlash and numerous claims that the registry was being exploited by officers as a pretext for roadside extortion. At the time, the IGP had urged officers not to extort the public under the guise of e-CMR certificate checks.

This latest incident has intensified calls from the public for decisive disciplinary measures against the officers involved and for more comprehensive systemic reforms within the police force to address and curb the abuse of power and extortion by security officials.