A young man, Franklin Obiajuru Egwuatu, has shared a disturbing account of how he was allegedly assaulted and extorted by officers of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) on November 29 along the Seme-Badagry highway. Franklin, who has been living in the Benin Republic since 2017, was reportedly harassed by the officers for no clear reason other than the accusation that he “looked like a Yahoo boy”—a colloquial term used in Nigeria to describe internet fraudsters.

According to Franklin’s narration, the officers, after inspecting his phone and finding nothing incriminating, insisted that he was involved in fraudulent activities simply because his wife’s phone number was registered in Benin Republic. The officers then allegedly took him to an unfinished building, where they physically assaulted him, threatening to kill him unless he complied with their demands.

Franklin was coerced into transferring N100,000 to a Moniepoint Microfinance Bank account—belonging to a business called Apexze Global Concept Limited, registered under the name Joy Yakubu. The account number provided was 6739461449. Franklin claims he made the transfer under duress, fearing for his life.

A quick investigation by SaharaReporters revealed that Apexze Global Concept Limited, with a business address in Badagry, Lagos, was incorporated in August 2023, raising further questions about the legitimacy of the transaction.

The Nigerian Immigration Service has yet to respond to the allegations of extortion and abuse of power by their officers, despite similar past complaints of corruption and misconduct along border areas.