The remand order used to detain 66-year-old activist Kindness Jonah at Keffi Maximum Security Prison in Nasarawa State over alleged cyberstalking of House of Representatives member Chinedu Ogah was fraudulently obtained, SaharaReporters has learned.
According to sources, the document was acquired on a Saturday but backdated to the preceding Friday, with an irregular court hearing scheduled for Saturday, April 26, 2025. This raises serious concerns about judicial malpractice and abuse of power.
SaharaReporters earlier reported that Ogah, who represents Ezza South/Ikwo Federal Constituency in Ebonyi State, had weaponised the Cybercrime Act to silence Jonah. Since his arrest on February 27, 2025, Jonah has remained in detention without trial or family notification—violating both constitutional rights and international human rights standards.
Arrest Without Due Process
Investigations revealed that on February 23, 2025, a team from the notorious SARS Abattoir unit in Abuja—led by CSP Ejike Emmanuel—was dispatched to Enugu to arrest Jonah. The officers failed to notify the Enugu State CID or any local police unit, flouting standard procedures for interstate operations.
After covertly trailing Jonah for four days while lodged at a hotel, they arrested him in what eyewitnesses described as an abduction rather than a lawful arrest. He was whisked away to Abuja, bypassing all official channels.
Secret Detention and Unlawful Charges
Jonah was held at the SARS Abattoir under the supervision of ACP Victor. His family, unaware of his whereabouts, searched multiple facilities across Enugu in vain. Meanwhile, police quietly filed charges at the Federal High Court in Abuja, fixing May 21, 2025, as the arraignment date—but without notifying Jonah or his family.
However, in a surprise move, newly appointed FCT Police Commissioner CP Ajao Saka Adewale visited the SARS facility on April 11. Shocked to find the frail and visibly ill Jonah in detention, CP Adewale ordered his immediate release.
But within 24 hours, the officers contacted Ogah and, in defiance of the commissioner’s directive, transferred Jonah to an undisclosed location before moving him to Keffi Prison—again without any court appearance or legal documentation.
Backdoor Remand Order
Sources told SaharaReporters that the transfer was justified with a forged remand order from a Wuse Zone 6 Magistrate Court, with the hearing scheduled for Saturday, April 26—an unusual and suspicious move.
Sources told SaharaReporters that the order was obtained by police prosecutor Edwin Inegbenoise, who later claimed it was mistakenly backdated.
“They got the remand from a ‘black market’ magistrate on Saturday and then backdated it to Friday, just after the police commissioner ordered Jonah’s release. They are hiding the remand order,” one source said. “Now the police lawyer is trying to cover up and running helter-skelter, calling it a mistake.”
Efforts to reach Inegbenoise were unsuccessful, as his phone was unreachable.
When contacted, FCT Police spokesperson Josephine Adeh initially asked for time to verify details. She later said the OC Special Squad (Abattoir) informed her the matter had been charged to court.
She said, “That case you are talking about has been charged to court and I don’t speak on cases that have already been charged to court.”
When pressed about the fraudulent remand order, she declined to comment, insisting that the case was already in court.
“The case has been charged to court. According my OC Special Squad, that case is in court. My own response to you is that the case is in court,” she said.
Visit to Keffi Prison
On April 23, 2025, journalist and whistleblower, Isaac Bristol, also known as ‘PidomNigeria’, visited Mr. Jonah at the Keffi Maximum Security Prison. Though in poor health and visibly weak, the detained activist remains mentally alert and hopeful for justice.
The use of the Cybercrime Act in this instance appears to be a façade for political retribution.
In a two-count charge filed on March 13, 2025, at the Federal High Court, Abuja Judicial Division, E. A. Inegbenoise Esq., representing the Legal/Prosecution Section of the Criminal Investigation Section, FCT Police Command, accused Comrade Kindness Jonah of intentionally referring to Hon. Chinedu N. Ogah as an ex-convict.
This act is alleged to violate Section 24(1)(b) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) (Amendment) Act, 2024, and is punishable under Section 24(2)(a)(ii) of the same Act.
The charge, marked FHC/ABJ/CR/97/2025, lists the Commissioner of Police, FCT Command, as the complainant and Comrade Kindness Jonah as the defendant.
The counts read: “That you, Comrade Kindness Jonah ‘m’ 66 years old of 22/24, Edinburgh Road, Enugu, Enugu State on diverse dates through the use of computer network in Nigeria, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court did commit an illegal act to wit. Cyberstalking, when you knowingly and intentionally accused Hon. Chinedu N. Ogah, OON of being the killer of one Ukamaka Immaculate Ogboji, which you know the content of the various internet posts to be false. You thereby committed an offence contrary to section 24 (1)(b) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention etc.) (Amendment) Act, 2024 and punishable under section 24(2)(a)(i) of the same Act.
“That you, Comrade Kindness Jonah ‘m’ 66 years old of 22/24, Edinburgh Road, Enugu, Enugu State on diverse dates through the use of computer network in Nigeria, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court did commit an illegal act to wit: Cyberstalking, when you knowingly and intentionally referred to Hon. Chinedu N. Ogah, OON as an ex-convict, which you know the content of the various internet posts to be false. You thereby committed an offence contrary to section 24(1)(b) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention etc.) (Amendment) Act, 2024 and punishable under section 24(2)(a)(ii) of the same Act.”
When SaharaReporters reached out to ACP Victor for a reaction, he declined to comment and directed that the police public relations officer be contacted instead.
“You can contact the police public relations officer. So no comment,” he said.
However, the spokesperson for the FCT Police Command, Josephine Adeh, initially requested time to make inquiries before commenting on the matter, but subsequent attempts to reach her were unsuccessful.
Background
On April 16, SaharaReporters highlighted the unrest in Ihe community, Awgu Local Government Area, over Mr Jonah’s detention. His arrest followed his efforts to challenge the wrongful conviction and death sentence of their son, Ifeanyi Ekoh, for alleged murder.
The case revolves around the brutal killing of seven-year-old Ukamaka Immaculata Ogboji, whose body was dismembered in August 2012. Ogah, a feared and influential politician in Ebonyi State, was reportedly implicated in the ritual murder by suspects arrested by the Department of State Services (DSS).
Despite being in Lagos at the time of the crime and having no ties to Ebonyi State, Ifeanyi Ekoh was convicted of the murder and sentenced to death by the Ebonyi State High Court in 2022. The community asserted that Ekoh had remained in detention despite a strong alibi proving his innocence.
Mr. Jonah, Convener of Voice From The East (VEast), exposed alleged cover-ups in Ekoh’s trial and petitioned Inspector General of Police Kayode Egbetokun to conduct a thorough investigation to identify the actual perpetrators and their sponsors.
Meanwhile, the lawmaker is one of those linked to the killing.
Following his petition, Jonah was grabbed by the police in Enugu on February 27, 2025 and taken to Abuja.