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Human rights group, Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC) has called for an urgent investigation into the alleged abduction-style arrest and detention of a family by police operatives in Osisioma Ngwa LGA, Abia State.
Mrs. Chioma Chikadibia reported that at about 11 pm on April 12, 2025, five armed, plainclothes policemen stormed their Alaukwu village home in two vehicles (a Hilux and Sienna), forcibly arresting her husband, Mr. Chikadibia Sunday, and three daughters – Sunday Glory, Ngozi Goodness, and Ogechi Gift, a final-year IMT Enugu student who came home for Easter.
According to one daughter, the officers ransacked rooms, confiscated money, a generator, duvets, cutlasses, and other belongings while threatening, “Your mother hasn’t started crying; this is just the beginning.”
Neighbors revealed that Ngozi was lured from her shop by an unknown caller, while Glory was seized at her workplace.
The family later identified the operatives as personnel from the Anti-Kidnapping Unit, Mobile Police Base Umuahia, but say no reasons were given for the arrests. For three weeks, the detainees have been held without access to lawyers or family.
“We went with a lawyer, but police claimed they weren’t there. Yet, our sources confirm they’re being maltreated inside”, a distraught Mrs. Chikadibia told RULAAC, expressing fears for their health and safety.
However, the Abia State Police Spokesperson has reacted saying, “Regarding this matter, the suspects are allegedly linked to a case of terrorism, murder, and kidnapping by non-state actors. all of which are capital and non-bailable offences. However, discreet investigation is still ongoing, and the public will be updated.”
RULAAC Executive Director Okechukwu Nwanguma decried the operation as a “gross abuse of power,” citing violations of arrest protocols and due process under Nigeria’s laws. The group urged police hierarchy to “ensure accountability and redress.”
As tensions rise, locals demand transparency, questioning why anti-kidnapping operatives conducted a raid resembling the crimes they’re meant to combat.
