A Nigerian man has narrowly escaped what appears to be an attempted organ harvesting incident involving men posing as police officers in Rivers State.
The victim’s older brother who simply identified as Chizom (@iam_polymath) shared the harrowing experience on social media platform X on Tuesday, narrating how his younger sibling was abducted while using a Bolt ride in Port Harcourt.
The attackers, who were in plain clothes but allegedly identified themselves as police officers, forcefully stopped the vehicle and dragged the young man out.
“They held him by his shorts and began hitting him with the butt of a rifle,” the source said. “The Bolt driver tried to intervene and followed them, but when he attempted to raise the alarm, they shot at his car and blew out his tyres.”
According to the narration, the victim was blindfolded, tied up, and beaten in the backseat of a Sienna vehicle.
His phones were confiscated, and the men went through his personal photos. It was at that moment that they discovered pictures from a recent surgery.
“They asked him about the surgical scars, and he explained that he has been managing kidney failure for seven years. When they heard that, one of them said, ‘So your organs no deh work well?’ He replied yes. Then they stopped the car and had a private conversation,” the brother wrote.
Apparently deterred by his medical condition, the attackers abandoned their plans. They allegedly withdrew N80,000 from the victim’s bank account using his ATM card but gave him N3,000 and returned his phone.
“They told him to call his Bolt driver to come pick him. My sweet little brother would have disappeared forever if not for that surgery he had last month,” he added. “This is terrifying. It shows that no one is safe anymore. Even real officers may be involved in organ harvesting. It’s hard to tell who is legitimate.”
The incident underscores growing fears about rising insecurity and impersonation of law enforcement officers in Nigeria. The victim’s family is thankful he survived the ordeal.
“I thank God my brother is safe and sound. But this should be a wake-up call to everyone. Don’t ever think it can’t happen to you,” the brother concluded.
Punch Metro made several attempts to contact the spokesperson for the Rivers State Police Command, Grace Iringe-Koko, via phone calls and text messages, but received no response as of the time of filing this report.
