The Delta State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Bright Edafe, has been the subject of online debate over his ownership of a Toyota Camry worth over N11 million.
In a post on X on Sunday, DSP Edafe posted a picture of himself standing close to the car with an iPhone 14 and a Samsung Fold, which would both cost N1.8 million.
The post by the police PRO has since sent social media agog, with many questioning his financial ability to buy such a luxury car.
Reacting to the post by the police PRO, a social media influencer identified as Omotayo Williams stated “You and I know your salary can’t buy that car, or should I mind my business?”
Another social media user, simply identified as First Gentleman, in a comment on X, argued that even as a banker in Nigeria, he couldn’t afford such a car.
“Even as a banker back in Nigeria, it was hard for me to buy this car, Tokunbo, and I was earning N520,000 per month as of 2022,” he wrote.
Noting that the salary of a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) is not up to N500,000, Henry Isidore noted that Edafe would need to save his salary for two years before he would be able to buy such a car.
“DSP doesn’t earn more than N500,000 with whole allowances in a month. That car is over 12m. He needs not to touch his salary for two years to afford that car. Disguising with the police work,” Isidore wrote.
“You cannot justify spending millions to acquire just a car. How will you defend the properties you’ve acquired if we delve deeper? The system is corrupt, and you’ve all contributed to the destruction in one way or another,” Abiola argues.
For Hope, he states, “You are very correct. I was also thinking about it. It may be a stolen vehicle that can’t be returned to the owner. He has claimed it.”
Others accused the police officer of buying the car using earnings from bribes and other fraudulent means.
Calling for a probe of the police officer, Efengbe Innocent notes that “this was how Abba Kyari was showing off, not knowing he was doing an illegal deal. There is a need to probe some people’s sources of wealth.”
Buttressing Innocent’s point, Dozie Ebuka alleged that the policeman must have stolen the funds for the purchase of the car from internet fraudsters.
“He stole the money from Yahoo Boys; he is also a criminal; he reminds me of Abba Kyari; soon the police will investigate this crook,” Ebuka wrote.
While Ugochukwu Iwuoba alleged that “this is a cheap car for policemen with their extortions and other criminal activities,” Waxy Lex argues that “he does receive benefits from checkpoints, which the sergeants remit to them daily.”
Amid the backlash, Peter Zion noted that “it’s only in Nigeria that we view cars as luxury; the car could have been bought by him; his salary can buy him one if he saves; also, it could have been a gift or inherited.”
Malcolm Ibrahim attributes Edafe’s ability to buy such a luxury car to owning other sources of income. “So because he’s a police officer, that doesn’t stop him from having other sources of income. What if he has a business he’s doing? Let’s not always see everything black and just be happy for people sometimes.”
“He is an officer; he can be gifted or from the money he has been saving out of his salary,” Great Grace argues.
Adebayo Dipo, urged Nigerians not to “judge the book by its cover,” adding that he “knows some who work but have inheritances where he gets money to sought out his daily expenses while the salaries are saved and there might be other businesses. You should know better.”
