Professor Mike Ozekhome, a constitutional lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), has demanded the immediate refund of N62 million extorted by officers of the Anti-Kidnapping Squad, Enugu State Police Command, from Mr. Olu Agwu during his alleged illegal arrest and detention.
SaharaReporters reported on Thursday how one Olu Agwu was forced to pay N62 million to different accounts fronted by some senior police officers to avoid traces, in a disturbing trend of labelling high-profile victims as members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) or Eastern Security Network (ESN) with a view to extort money from their victims.
Although, the Command denied the allegations in a rebuttal signed by the Command’s spokesperson SP Daniel Ndukwe, SaharaReporters on Saturday reported additional information about the scheme linked to the state commissioner, Mr Kanayo Uzuegbu.
However, in a detailed petition dated February 14, addressed to the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun and copied the Commissioner of Police in Enugu State, Ozekhome called for urgent intervention, warning that failure to address the issue would lead to further legal action to protect Agwu’s rights as enshrined in the 1999 Constitution and the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights.
Ozekhome’s petition alleged that Agwu was forced to pay N62 million into various accounts controlled by senior police officers to avoid being labelled a member of the IPOB or ESN.
The petition described Agwu’s ordeal as “reprehensible, unlawful, illegal, wrongful, unconstitutional, and an affront to decency, morality, and professionalism.”
Ozekhome urged the police IG to conduct a thorough and unbiased investigation into the allegations, emphasising the need to protect Agwu’s rights and prevent further harassment.
The petition is titled: “Petition Against The State Anti-Kidnapping Squad, Enugu State Police Command For The Unlawful Arrest And Detention Of One Mr Olu Agwu, And A Demand For The Refund Of The Sum Of Sixty Two Million Naira Extorted From Him Under Duress.”
It said, “We shall not hesitate to take all necessary legal steps to protect the legal rights of our client as enshrined and guaranteed in the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) and all extant laws pertaining thereto, including the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights.”
The petition, personally signed by Ozekhome stated that it was written on the behest of Mr Agwu whom he described as “our client”, to intervene urgently and right the many wrongs being perpetrated by one Mr Michael Umeh with the active connivance and collaboration of police officers and men of the Anti-Kidnapping Squad and the police high command in Enugu.
Describing Agwu as a well-meaning and law-abiding citizen of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Ozekhome stated that “it is our client’s brief that: Following a business transaction which went awry and sour between our client and one Mr Michael Umeh, his business associate, Mr Michael Umeh concocted and fabricated a cocktail of lies against him.
“In a petition guided and authored by the officers and men of the Enugu state Police Command, he instigated our client’s arrest under spurious allegations of being a member of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and Eastern Security Network (ESN), on 26th December, 2024, in Enugu State, Nigeria.
“Our client informed us that the said Michael Umeh also stated that our client allegedly threatened his life and kidnapped him and was only let off the hook after he parted with the sum of N400 million (Four hundred million naira) only as ransom.
“Prior to the recent conflict and crisis orchestrated and oiled by officers of the Enugu State Police Command, our client informed us that he and the said Michael had had a smooth and friendly relationship in their various business transactions. The incarceration of our client therefore smacks of a well-articulated and executed conspiracy, programmed extortion and intimidation geared towards dispossessing him of all his life earnings without cause.
“Our client informed us that at the last count, the sum of N62 million (Sixty-two million naira) had been extorted from our client by officers and men of the Enugu state Police Command since his arrest and incarceration in December 2024 (copies of transaction receipts and the sequence of payment are herewith attached as Annexures 1, 2, 3 and 4).
“To ensure a clinical accomplishment of their sinister plans, our client states that a petition purportedly signed or approved by the Inspector General of Police was ‘flashed’ at our client’s face. He was thereafter tortured, beaten black and blue and forced to accept that he was a member of IPOB and ESN and a yahoo boy.
“Part of the scheme to ensure that our client complied with the illegal demands of the officers and men of the Enugu State Police Command was to bring in a man known as Daddy White who works in the Anti-kidnap circle and whom our client alleged had actually forged a document claiming that the IGP had approved the petition.
“It was this Daddy White who submitted a bank account number where the police’s 10 percent of the extorted sum was paid into (transactions evidenced the Annexures in para 2(d) above).
“Our client further informed us that one Hon Ochi Nonso whom the Commissioner of Police, Mr Kanayo Uzuegbu, had introduced as his friend collected the sum of 20 million Naira in execution of a purported court order on behalf of the Commissioner of Police (copy of transaction receipt attached as Annexures 5 and 6).
“Our client further told us that the Investigating Police Officer (IPO), Emmanuel Ahamuefuna (Onyeisi), further demanded and extorted the sum of N2,000,000 (two million naira) to have the statement which he was forced to sign replaced with another one (transaction receipt attached herewith as Annexure…
“Our client informed us that the police in Enugu not yet done with their nefarious activities are now demanding another sum of N100 million (One hundred million naira) only, otherwise he will be charged to court for alleged acts of terrorism activities and for allegedly being a member of IPOB and ESN (voice note available).
“The police in Enugu are also, till date, holding on to our client’s Toyota Hilux pickup which they have threatened to auction except and unless he pays the N100 million demanded.
“Our client says his life is now in danger as one Ojieka Egbu Ele, a well-known civilian agent of the police in Enugu, has threatened to kill him if he failed to make available the said sum of N100 million (a voice note available).
“Our client states that he was told in clear and unequivocal terms that the said 100 million was needed by the Commissioner of Police, Enugu State Police Command, for onward transmission to the Inspector General of Police (voice note available).”
“Our client insists that he is not in possession of any such money and therefore not in a position to pay further sums as being illegally demanded, and/or at all by the police,” the petition added.