There has been growing outrage in Anambra State over allegations of police intimidation, brutality, unlawful arrests, arbitrary detention and extortion targeting young men across the state.
Sunday PUNCH learnt that young people returning from work are allegedly accosted by the police and other state-backed security operatives, arrested and forced into their vans before being taken to isolated locations, where they are reportedly compelled to pay money for their release.
Several online reports claimed that those who do not have money on them are allegedly taken to police stations and made to spend the night in detention, a situation that has prompted victims to begin mobilising youths against such intimidation and extortion.
The majority of the youths who spoke with our correspondent said it had become a matter of gratitude when a young man left his parents’ home in the morning and returned safely without spending the night in a police cell.
They alleged that police cells had effectively become a second home for many young people in Anambra, who risk arrest whenever they encounter officers allegedly searching for money.
The young people said the situation was frustrating and depressing, as many men were in police custody for no offence.
They called on the state governor, Prof Chukwuma Soludo, and the state’s Chief Security Officer to curb the officers’ excesses.
Injustice and extortion
The establishment of the Anambra State Judicial Panel of Inquiry on Police Brutality, Extra-Judicial Killings and Other Related Matters in October 2020 was intended to provide a mechanism for examining complaints and addressing grievances arising from police misconduct.
But despite the establishment of the state Judicial Panel following the #EndSARS protests, residents were yet to feel the full impact of accountability efforts, as allegations of harassment and extortion persisted.
Reports indicate that unlawful detention and extortion have continued to affect residents, raising questions about the investigation of complaints and the prosecution of officers implicated in alleged abuses.
One of the victims and an aggrieved commentator, Uzor Orjiako, said the situation would continue unless young men in Anambra stood up against injustice and extortion targeting law-abiding citizens and fought for the soul of the state.
In a testimony attributed to a social media account identified as Medinok, a young man recounted an alleged encounter with police officers along the road from Nnamdi Azikiwe University Junction, Awka, the state capital, to Isuaniocha Bridge.
According to the victim, who called on the governor and the state Commissioner of Police to investigate and prosecute the offenders, the officers stopped the commercial tricycle he was travelling in and said they wanted to search him.
He cooperated and disclosed that his bag contained a power bank, a phone microphone, a charger and N12,000.
He alleged that one of the officers collected his phone, put it in his pocket, and ordered him to enter the police vehicle.
When he asked what offence he had committed, he said the officer repeated the order and threatened to spray tear gas into his eyes if he refused to comply.
The complainant said other passengers in the vehicle told him they had been stopped while returning from playing football in Isuaniocha and travelling towards Awka. He said they were also accused of being fraudsters.
Medinok said the incident occurred at about 7 pm and that, although his phone was ringing, he was not allowed to access it, alleging that the officers instructed the detainees to change their clothes upon arriving at the station because they were going to be taken to a cell.
He said approximately 16 people were held in the cell, which had insufficient space to accommodate them comfortably. “The following day, officers told the detainees that they would make statements,” he said.
He alleged that an officer initially wrote a statement for him to sign, but he insisted on writing his own. He claimed that he was initially asked to pay N100,000 before the amount was eventually reduced to N30,000, which he paid to secure his freedom.
The complainant also argued that the circulation of videos documenting alleged incidents had made it increasingly difficult to ignore the concerns being raised by residents.
Another victim, Emmanuel Chukwu, recounted an encounter with the officers around the Y-Junction near Geneva Hotel Road.
“In my own experience, they threatened to kill me, plant evidence like a gun on me and dump my body in the bush, and that was around 9 p.m. at Y-Junction by Geneva Hotel Road,” he said.
Chukwu alleged that the officers emerged at night and targeted people returning from their businesses.
He said the officers beat him, handcuffed him, and threw him into their vehicle after directing him to park his car at what he described as an illegal checkpoint.
According to him, the officers demanded money from other people at the location or instructed them to contact people who could pay for their release and the release of their vehicles.
Chukwu said he eventually secured his release and returned home at about midnight after parting with N50,000.
“The insecurity is within the security; the problem can never offer you a solution,” he said.
Activists demand accountability
A human rights activist and lawyer, Lawrence Esezoobo, said the account, if substantiated, raised concerns about the alleged misuse of police powers, the safety of motorists and the need for independent investigations into complaints of extortion and threats against civilians.
He warned that such acts of impunity and abuse of power were among the reasons for the #EndSARS protests and cautioned Soludo about a possible repetition of history in Anambra if the victims’ complaints were not treated urgently.
“Nigeria is at the crossroads, and every wise government should ensure that the masses are not further pushed to the wall. There is a limit to which you can suppress or oppress a man before he fights back. The complaints are many and must be investigated, and these bad eggs in the police must be prosecuted,” he added.
A commercial tricycle operator, Kizito Ibom, said similar incidents had affected the route he regularly plied between Temporary Site and Isuaniocha.feat
“My route is from Temporary Site to Isuaniocha. Boys are full of fear to ply that road. We do lose passengers every time because once you carry guys, they will ask you to stop them once those people are on the road,” he said.
His account suggests that fear of alleged police harassment may also be affecting commercial transport operators and their passengers.
In 2023, the Action Group on Free Civic Space, a coalition comprising about 60 civil society organisations, called for investigations into allegations of illegal detention, extortion, torture and extrajudicial killings involving some police officers at Zone 13 Headquarters in Ukpo and the Rapid Response Squad in Awkuzu.
In a statement, the coalition described the allegations as disturbing and said they undermined human rights, human dignity and the principles of responsible policing.
The group said social media had been awash with allegations and testimonies against the police units for about a week, with posts circulating under hashtags including #AnambraKillings, #ArrestPatrickAgbazue and #Anambra.
According to the coalition, the allegations were consistent with concerns raised in its joint-action research report, #EndSARS: Police Brutality and Shrinking Civic Space in Nigeria.
Although SARS was disbanded following the 2020 protests, the coalition said allegations against other police formations suggested that the reforms promised at the time had not adequately addressed the problem.
“Culpable officers must be made to face the full wrath of the law, if indicted,” the coalition said, calling for the suspension of accused officers pending the outcome of investigations.
Residents and civil society organisations are demanding prompt investigations, transparent disciplinary proceedings and effective remedies for victims of alleged abuses.
Public complaints about alleged police misconduct have also prompted reactions from residents of Isuaniocha and Mgbakwu.
Meanwhile, the Anambra State Police Public Relations Officer, Tochukwu Ikenga, told Sunday PUNCH that justice would be served for the victims of the alleged brutality.
According to the PPRO, Agunechemba personnel, like police officers and members of other security agencies, are not angels, “but we shouldn’t allow the unprofessional conduct of one or a few individuals to define the entire outfit or the homeland security agency as a whole.”
“Generally speaking, I would say we are not where we ought to be, but we are no longer where we used to be. There is still room for improvement, not only for Agunechemba but for the Nigeria Police Force and other security agencies as well,” he added.