Imo CP oversees an inquiry into POS viral messages
Mohammed Barde, the commissioner of police for Imo State, has voiced his displeasure over a social media viral post about hoodlums who compelled people to make transfers using Point Of Service (POS) machines after forcing them to be waylaid.
The Commissioner said the news of dishonest people detaining young guys and extorting them in a Toyota Sienna car is distressing in a statement published yesterday on his behalf by the Police Public Relations Officer (PRO), Michael Abattam.
Therefore, Barde gave the go-ahead for the Commissioner of Police Monitoring Unit and the Inspector General of Police X-Squad Unit to start working.
The statement reads: “The Imo State Police Command’s attention has been drawn to some audio messages circulating on social media about some unidentified armed men in black clothing in a Sienna vehicle, arresting young people driving flashy cars and taking them to POS points to extort huge amounts of money from them before abandoning them and zooming off to an unidentified destination.
The audio message is taken seriously by the Command since it may have been produced by criminals who aim to instill fear in the state’s residents.
Therefore, the statement gave the public the advice to avoid disseminating such information. “The CP has organized a high powered investigative team to begin inquiry to determine the origin of the audio message,” the statement said.
In order to stop similar events in the state, he has also ordered the Commissioner of Police Monitoring Unit and the Inspector General of Police X-Squad Unit to start conducting tough patrols.
