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Illegal Detention: IPOB Lawyer Writes Police Chiefs, Says Officers Ruined Young Marriage
A legal practitioner, Sir Ifeanyi Ejiofor is demanding that the police hierarchy should investigate the arrest, brutalisation, torture, and detention of a business woman, Joy-Smart Chinenye by the monitoring unit personnel of the Nigeria Police Force Headquarters, based on a petition filed by her husband, George Obinna Smart Unaegbu, over alleged debt to him.
The incident which took place on Sunday (Mothers Day) was said to have elicited a serious drama, wild condemnation and is already causing ripples among the police hierarchy.
Ejiofor, also a lawyer to the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), in her petition to the Chairman of the Police Service Commission (PSC), Retired DIG Hashimu Argungu and Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, on behalf of his client, said the action of the officers have succeeded in destroying a young, promising marriage and exposing private marital issues to the public.
The petition reads, “We are Solicitors to Mrs. Joy-Smart Chinenye (hereinafter referred to as “Our client”) and we write under her explicit instruction and mandate, to petition for a thorough investigation into the unprofessional conduct of the officers mentioned above.
FACTS
“Our client is an industrious, hardworking, and responsible mother and wife to Mr. Obinna George Smart Unegbu, residing in Lagos.
“Our client has been married to Mr. Obinna George Smart for over a decade, and their union has been blessed with three intelligent children. The couple faced struggles at the beginning of their marriage but worked hard to establish one of the best private schools in the South-East, achieving excellence and financial success.
“Despite occasional domestic disagreements, our client never imagined that her husband would engage police officers to subject her to inhumane treatment, abuse, bullying, and torture, for no justifiable cause.
“Our client’s ordeal began on March 27, 2025, over a dispute regarding the late remittance of business funds by her husband, for which she had set a deadline, to the knowledge and approval of her husband. On this March 27, 2025, the trio of CSP…, 2/C … and ASP …stormed their matrimonial home in Lagos, demanding to see our client in the presence of her husband and children. Her attention was immediately called to the presence of the strange visitors in their home, and for which she quickly came downstairs to ascertain their mission.
“To our client’s greatest shock, the officers claimed they were from Area H Command Headquarters, Ikeja, and were acting on a petition filed by her husband, for which they will require her explanation regarding issues raised in the petition, which content they equally refused to disclose to our client at the material time in question. Right before our client’s children, her husband instructed the officers to immediately handcuff her and take her away. However, on our client’s insistence, a female member of this team escorted her to her room to change to a casual wear.
“Our client never resisted arrest but was denied the opportunity to contact her lawyer. The officers confiscated her mobile devices immediately and whisked her away in handcuffs, treating her with the greatest disdain as if she was a common criminal.
“Upon arrival at Area H Command Headquarters, Ikeja, our client was shown a petition from her husband regarding a financial transaction. She provided a detailed response, stating that her husband also owed her money. Despite her detailed explanation, the officers subjected our client to slapping, torture, and bullying to force her to pay the alleged debt, which she was told was the only condition that would guarantee her freedom.
“Our client’s husband witnessed all the abuse without intervening, as he was signalling approval for the apparent dehumanizing treatment. Overwhelmed and eager to return to her children, our client agreed to pay N5,000,000.00 (Five Million Naira Only) out of the alleged debt of N15,000,000.00 (Fifteen Million Naira Only). The officers provided an account number, to which she transferred the funds. An indication that what the officers actually set out to achieve primarily, was to recover the alleged debt our client allegedly owed the husband. A copy of the transaction receipt is attached herewith for your ease of reference, Sir.
“Even after the payment, the officers insisted that our client must commit to settling the balance or remain detained, for which she refused and challenged them to either release or kill her if that was the penalty she would pay for allegedly owing her husband. It was at this juncture that the officers revealed to our client that they were from the IGP Monitoring Unit, Abuja, and would transfer her to Abuja since she refused to make further payment.
“Our client was detained in FCID Unit, Panti, Lagos overnight and on March 28, 2025, was handcuffed, dragged through the Lagos Airport, and flown to Abuja against her will. In Abuja, our client was taken to the IGP Monitoring Unit, for an interface with the officer in charge of the team, where she endured further abuse, threats, bullying and intimidation, as the officer in charge also insisted that our client must settle the alleged indebtedness before she would regain her freedom.
“When our client refused to make additional payments, in settlement of the alleged outstanding sum, she was ordered to be transferred to the Abattoir-SARS detention facility- a centre known for housing criminals, kidnappers, and terrorists. In this facility, our client was made to share a cell with notorious criminals who also attacked and molested her, but for divine intervention, she could have been permanently disabled.
“Throughout our client’s illegal detention in Abuja, she was repeatedly taken to unknown locations at wee hours of the night for further coercion, bullying, threats and intimidation to pay this money. It will be pertinent that an investigation is conducted for further revelation on other malfeasance that was meted to her during this period she was taken outside the detention facility.
“On one occasion, our client was taken outside the facility in the night, her phone was given back to her, and she was forced to call her cousin, to demand help with the payment, an indication that she was principally held on account of her inability to settle this alleged outstanding indebtedness.
“This torment continued until our intervention secured her release in the late night of March 30, 2025, with the obvious assistance of the Police High Command. However, the physical and emotional scars remain.
Findings
“It is crystal clear that from the trajectory of the foregoing accounts, the officers are under no illusion that they were procured by our client’s husband to engage in debt recovery. It is a matter of common knowledge that your good offices had on several occasions issued clear directives, prohibiting police personnel from engaging in debt recovery.
“Our client was arrested in Lagos, subsequently transferred to Abuja, and subjected to torture, bullying, threats and intimidation, despite knowing that the subject matter was a civil matter, particularly between a husband and his wife.
“The officers coerced our client into paying N5,000,000.00 (Five Million Naira Only) into a strange bank account, not her husband’s account, and insisted she settle the alleged balance before her release, and her failure to settle the balance led to subsequent grave inhuman treatment meted to her.
“The actions of these officers have succeeded in destroying a young, promising marriage and exposing private marital issues to the public, which would have been totally avoidable and unnecessary if the officers had acted with circumspect and utmost professionalism.
Prayers
“Given these serious violations, we respectfully urge the Chairman to:
Launch a comprehensive investigation into these disturbing allegations that bothers on unethical conduct of the trio of CSP …, 2/C …, and ASP ….
“Take appropriate disciplinary action against these officers for their gross abuse of power.
“Recover and return the N5,000,000.00 (Five Million Naira Only) extorted from our client.
“Restore public confidence in the Nigeria Police Force by ensuring that officers adhere to ethical standards. We trust in your swift intervention, Sir, to deliver justice and uphold the integrity of the Force. Please, accept the assurances of our highest regards, Sir.”
By Abubakar Yunusa
The Dangote Petroleum Refinery has further reduced the ex-gantry price of premium motor spirit (PMS), also known as petrol, to N835 per litre.
According to sources at the refinery, the plant dropped the price of the petrol sold to oil marketers to N835 per litre, six days after the refinery reduced it to N865 per litre.
“The refinery reduced the price of the petrol to N835 per litre,” a source told TheCable.
The reduction in Dangote petrol price followed an announcement by the federal government on April 9, that the naira-for-crude oil deal will continue after the first phase ended on March 31.
“The stakeholders reaffirmed the government’s continued commitment to the full implementation of this strategic initiative, as directed by the Federal Executive Council (FEC),” the finance ministry said.
“Thus, the Crude and Refined Product Sales in Naira initiative is not a temporary or time-bound intervention, but a key policy directive designed to support sustainable local refining, bolster energy security, and reduce reliance on foreign exchange in the domestic petroleum market.”
On April 15, Farouk Ahmed, chief executive officer (CEO) of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), said the estimated pump price of petrol in Nigeria is less than that of neighbouring countries in West Africa.
Ahmed also said Nigeria’s petrol importation reduced by 29.9 million litres in eight months due to increased contributions from local refineries.
Three suspected herdsmen have been arrested following the attacks that led to the killing of 11 persons at Otobi community in Otupko local government by suspected herdsmen.
Governor Hyacinth Alia disclosed this on Wednesday while briefing journalists at the Government House in Makurdi, the state capital.
He expressed worry over the situation and called on security agencies to track down the perpetrators.
According to Alia, National Security Advisor, Nuhu Ribadu, has promised to deploy more security assets to the State to arrest the renewed wave of attacks in the state, especially the Otukpo axis.
The governor also announced the deployment of security personnel to the affected area, with three suspected herdsmen arrested in connection with the Otobi killings.
According to the member representing Otukpo-Akpa Constituency in the Benue State House of Assembly, Kennedy Angbo, nine corpses were recovered Tuesday night, followed by one in a hard-to-reach area later that evening.
By dawn Wednesday, other corpses were found, bringing the total number of fatalities to 11.
The attack has sent shockwaves through the state, particularly because the Otobi community—home to the Federal Ministry of Water Resources Multipurpose Dam—has now come under assault twice this April.
A security guard was previously killed at the dam site just days before this latest massacre.
Earlier, the governor sent his deputy, Samuel Ode, on an assessment tour to the devastated community.
He offered condolences to the grieving families and reassured residents of the state government’s commitment to tackling the spate of violent attacks across rural areas.
Ode also made some cash donations to carter for some immediate relief while the state emergency management agency has been tasked to move in for needs assessment and provide emergency response to those in need.
The attack on Otobi is the latest in a disturbing string of assaults along the Otukpo-Ado Road, from Okpamaju to Asa One and Asa Two down to the Ebonyi State border.
At least 15 million Nigerians are at risk of flood disasters in 2025, Vice President Kashim Shettima has disclosed.
He made the disclosure at the commencement of a one-day Validation Workshop on the Anticipatory Action Framework for Nigeria held at the National Counter Terrorism Centre in the Office of the National Security Adviser Abuja on Wednesday.
The Vice President, however, said the Federal Government is taking a proactive approach as against a reactive approach to forestall the disaster.
He emphasized the need for collaboration among all the agencies of government at the states and Federal Government level to tackle floods and other disasters in the country.
Some of Maiduguri communities submerged in flood following a leak in the Alau Dam in 2024.
VP Shettima decried that Nigeria loses 5 per cent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to floods.
However, he disclosed that President Bola Tinubu has approved the sum of N15 billion to be released for emergency responses.
The Vice President, who also condemned the recent heinous attacks in Plateau state, expressed the sympathy of President Bola Tinubu to the affected families.
He, however, advocated a non-kinetic approach to tackling the security challenges on the Plateau and North-East.
According to him, “There can never be a military solution to the crisis in Plateau, North-East.”
Last week, the Federal Government predicted heavy rains and floods in 30 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.
The high-flood risk states are: Abia, Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Borno, Cross-River, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Gombe, Imo, Jigawa, Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Lagos, Nasarawa, Niger, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Oyo, Rivers, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe, Zamfara and the Federal Capital Territory.
The Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Joseph Utsev, said coastal and riverine flooding would be experienced in some parts of the South-South geopolitical zone of the country due to a rise in sea level.
Among these states are Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, and Rivers while Akwa-Ibom and Edo fall under the high-flood risk states.