A rights organisation, Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC), and the family of one Alfred Eme have called for his immediate release following his alleged abduction and prolonged detention by police operatives from Enugu State.
Speaking at a press conference in Enugu on Monday, RULAAC Executive Director, Mr. Okechukwu Nwanguma, accused the police of “weaponising law enforcement” through fabricated charges and abduction-style arrests aimed at extortion and intimidation.
According to him, Eme was arrested on June 26, 2025, when armed operatives from the Enugu State Anti-Kidnapping Unit stormed his Lagos residence without a warrant.
He said the operatives whisked him away in front of his wife and later denied relatives and lawyers access to him.
“For days, police denied knowledge of his whereabouts.
He was held secretly in Enugu for over a month before being charged with bogus offences,” Nwanguma said, describing the incident as an “enforced disappearance” and a grave violation of constitutional rights.
Eme’s brother, Sunday, alleged that police officers from both Lagos and Enugu Commands collected various sums of money from the family.
He further claimed that his brother was forced to sign a statement written by a senior officer, falsely admitting to funding the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
He maintained that the only money his brother sent — just over N7,000 — was payment to a carpenter, not sponsorship of any proscribed group.
Nwanguma added that the case exemplified one of the “most insidious tactics” in Nigerian policing: the use of trumped-up charges to justify illegal detentions.
As of press time, the Enugu State Police Command had not responded to the allegations.