The Anambra State Police Command has denied allegations that its officers demanded ₦100,000 from a man in connection with a missing wristwatch valued at $500, saying the case remains under investigation.

The command’s spokesperson, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, made the clarification on Thursday, October 22, following public controversy over the detention of a 15-year-old vulcanising apprentice at the Abagana Police Division.

The controversy arose after a video circulated on social media in which the teenager reportedly said he had spent five days in police custody over the missing wristwatch. He also alleged that the man who accused him of stealing the item assaulted him before taking him to the police station.

According to Ikenga, the complaint was formally lodged on October 17 after a wristwatch sent from abroad for delivery to the owner’s uncle in Nawfia, Anambra State, could not be found.

The police said preliminary investigations showed that the complainant’s brother had been entrusted with the watch for delivery but mistakenly handed it to a worker at a vulcanising workshop, believing the man was employed by the intended recipient.

The worker, identified as Igwe Arinze, reportedly said he kept the watch for safekeeping before handing it to his employer, Simon Tochukwu, when he returned.

Ikenga said Tochukwu later admitted receiving the watch but claimed he subsequently returned it to Arinze and instructed him to discard it because he believed it was an old wristwatch.

“Further questioning indicated that the wristwatch had allegedly been thrown into a pile of discarded tyres, where subsequent efforts to locate it proved unsuccessful,” the police spokesperson said.

The command said the conflicting accounts prompted investigators to question the individuals involved to establish how the watch was received, transferred and allegedly disposed of.

On the alleged demand for ₦100,000, Ikenga rejected the claim, insisting that the police investigation was focused on determining what happened to the missing property.

“The Command denies the allegation that ₦100,000 was demanded in connection with the case,” he said.

The police said the suspect had been released after questioning and directed to return to the Abagana division on Friday, October 23, for further clarification and follow-up efforts to locate the wristwatch.

The command added that its officers were expected to discharge their duties professionally and in accordance with the law, while assuring the public that any substantiated complaint of misconduct would be treated seriously.

It urged residents with complaints about police conduct to report them through the appropriate channels.

The allegations of extortion and assault have not been independently established in the reports reviewed. The police have denied the alleged money demand, while the investigation into the missing wristwatch remains ongoing.