Police in Minna, Niger State, have arrested a 30-year-old dismissed police officer, Haruna Haggai, for allegedly posing as security personnel, stealing motorcycles and extorting money from residents.
Haggai was arrested on January 16, 2026, at around 10:00 p.m. at his residence in Sauka-Kahuta, Minna, by agents of the Force Intelligence Department and the Special Tactical Squad, following intelligence reports and a complaint from one of his victims.
The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), SP Wasiu Abiodun, said in a statement that Haggai impersonated a police officer on January 14, 2026, along Kpakungu Road, where he intercepted a Jincheng motorcycle, intimidated the driver and forcibly took the bike.
According to investigations, the suspect subsequently extorted £150,000 from the victim around Garatu, falsely accusing him of fraud before abandoning him.
“The suspect was arrested based on a direct complaint that a victim was riding a Jincheng motorcycle along Kpakungu Road on January 14, 2026, when the suspect, Haggai, intercepted him, posed as a police officer, intimidated the victim and forcibly picked up the motorcycle,” the statement read.
“He later drove the motorcyclist around the city, extorted the sum of one hundred and fifty thousand naira from him for Garatu, branded him a fraudster, abandoned him and took the motorcycle.”
Abiodun added that this was not the suspect’s first crime, noting that in October 2025, Haggai was arrested for a similar crime involving the impersonation of an EFCC official and the extortion of £400,000.
However, he revealed that the suspect was released at that time following an out-of-court settlement.
The statement further revealed that Haggai had been reported for harassing and terrorizing members of the public in and around the Sauka-Kahuta area, extorting and robbing the victims of their valuables.
“The suspect is currently detained under investigation. The motorcycle has been recovered and will be presented to the court for prosecution, taking into account the history of his previous crimes,” the command added.