POLICE DENY DEMANDING ₦100,000 BRIBE OVER MISSING $500 WATCH

The Anambra State Police Command has denied allegations that officers demanded ₦100,000 while investigating a missing wristwatch valued at $500.

Police spokesperson SP Tochukwu Ikenga said the case was reported at Abagana Police Division on October 17, 2026, after a watch sent from abroad failed to reach its intended recipient in Nawfia.

According to the police account, the person delivering the watch mistakenly went to a vulcanising workshop, believing it was his uncle’s premises. He handed the item to a worker for onward delivery.

The mistake became apparent when the intended recipient said he had not received the watch.

Police said the worker told investigators that he later gave it to his employer. The employer reportedly acknowledged receiving it but claimed he returned it to the worker with instructions to discard it, believing it was old.

Investigators were told the watch had been thrown among discarded tyres, but efforts to recover it were unsuccessful.

The controversy also involves allegations that a teenage apprentice was assaulted and detained for several days. Those claims remain allegations.

Rejecting the reported demand for money, Ikenga said officers were investigating the watch’s disappearance and the conflicting accounts.

The command said inquiries remained ongoing and assured the public that complaints of police misconduct would be treated seriously.