A disturbing trend of labelling high-profile victims as members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) or Eastern Security Network (ESN) has emerged within the Enugu Command of the Nigeria Police Force.
This tactic is allegedly used to extort large sums of money from the victims, with the State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Kanayo Uzuegbu, accused of sanctioning the criminal operation as the spoils are shared in percentage.
It was gathered that the anti-kidnapping squad and Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) engage in such criminal operations, dropping the name of the commissioner and providing account numbers to allegedly receive payments from victims, thus avoiding traces.
The recent case involves Mr. Olu Agwu, who was abducted in his village at Abiriba, in the Ohafia local government area of Abia State, on December 26, 2024. He was handcuffed, blindfolded, and taken with his brand-new Toyota Hilux vehicle to an unknown destination until he found himself at the Enugu State Police Command anti-kidnapping squad unit along the Enugu-Abakaliki Road, where he was detained for three days under extreme conditions.
An investigation by SaharaReporters revealed that Olu Agwu was released after being forced to pay N62 million to different accounts associated with some senior police officers.
Some of the money was allegedly for the Inspector General of Police, an Assistant Inspector General of Police, and the state Commissioner of Police.
Security sources informed SaharaReporters that Agwu’s attempts to understand why he was being taken to an unknown location by his abductors were unsuccessful, as the policemen involved neither wore uniforms nor revealed their identities.
“It was when he got to Enugu anti-kidnapping squad unit that they removed his blindfold and then flashed a document claiming that the Inspector General of Police endorsed that he should be arrested.
“The allegation against him initially was that he kidnapped his friend, identified as one Mgboji Michael Umeh, who was deported from Vietnam and that he is a member of IPOB’s Eastern Security Network (ESN),” said a security source who revealed that the injustice done to the young man weighs heavily on his conscience.
According to the source, the investigating police officer (IPO) named Emmanuel Ahamefuna claimed that when he kidnapped his friend, he forced him to pay a ransom of N400 million into a specific account.
Transaction_Receipt 1.pdf
The source said, “So they flashed him a petition purportedly signed by the Inspector General of Police, IGP Kayode Egbetokun.
“Unfortunately, information from grapevine indicates that it was a lie. They just fabricated it to extort him having found some millions of naira in his bank account. So they now asked him to pay N400 million back.
“The suspect, Agwu, said he could not pay such money because he did not kidnap his friend and if his friend claimed that he kidnapped him, that it was very simple: they (police) should find out the account where the money was paid to.
“That was how they dropped the issue of kidnapping and said that his friend said he owed him money.
“That he must agree to pay the friend or they will charge him for being a member of IPOB/ESN, a tag that nobody will like to associate himself with.
“The young man told the commander Supol Chuks O. Odum that they knew he was not a member of ESN, so why were they forcing him to admit that he was one?”
Transaction_Receipt 2.pdf
The source noted that at this point, one of the officers from the anti-kidnapping squad, in an attempt to frighten Agwu, told him that the three men standing at the gate were EFCC officials there to arrest him if he didn’t cooperate.
Agwu then questioned, “Whisk me away for what?” The police officers responded, saying that to avoid that, he should comply immediately.
“He told them that he didn’t have N400 million and didn’t owe his friend. They insisted that he owed his friend and must pay the money.
He firmly stated that he couldn’t agree to something he didn’t have. When the policemen asked how much he had, he replied that he had no money. At this point, they began threatening to charge him in court as an IPOB/ESN member. They asked if he could pay N200 million,” the source said.
“Meanwhile, they brought in a man who claimed to be a lawyer and another who introduced himself as Hon. Ochi Nonso. These individuals were part of a gang set up to extort him. During the three days he was in custody, they didn’t allow him to contact anyone until he agreed to pay them.”
At this point, the man asked for the opportunity to call someone in his state to let them know where he was.
The source said, “He managed to call the traditional ruler of Amaogudu, Eze Ukpari. The monarch called the police, but they told him that he would be arrested if he was seen around the police anti-kidnapping squad. Out of fear, no one came to his aid because everyone who called was threatened.”
Another close source told SaharaReporters that after they denied him access to communicate with anyone or for anyone to come for him, including other traditional rulers, “the police started telling him that he couldn’t leave the anti-kidnapping squad in Enugu, that they would either kill him as a member of ESN or he had to agree to pay the money”.
The source explained that the officers first asked Agwu if he could pay N200 million, to which he responded that he didn’t have the money.
They then inquired about N100 million, and Agwu replied that he didn’t have that amount either but would start looking for the money if allowed to.
Out of fear that they might kill him or brand him as anything, Agwu reluctantly agreed.
However, he informed them that he didn’t have the money immediately available. The officers then demanded that he give them what he had, as they had already checked his account balance and knew he had some money.
While they were pressuring him to pay, Mr. Chinedu, who went by the nickname Oji aka Egbu Ele, told Agwu, “You should just pay the money if you value your life because the IGP is aware.”
Chinonso, claiming to be an Honorable and having brought a lawyer, insisted that Agwu should pay N20 million to the Commissioner of Police to cancel the court order they were planning to secure for his indefinite detention.
SaharaReporters gathered that Mr. Chinedu, who claimed to be an associate of the Commissioner of Police, had been sending voice notes to Agwu, demanding the N100 million after he was eventually released, or else he would be declared wanted if he defaulted on the payment. Mr. Chinedu claimed that part of the money was for the IGP and that he needed his own share.
However, a video clip obtained by SaharaReporters on Thursday shows an agreement for the payment being read to Mr. Agwu.
“The CP has given order that you should be detained indefinitely but because you have agreed to pay the N100 million, you will be released but before then you will bring N20 million to go and settle the CP Kanayo Uzuegbu, and when you pay the N100 million, the whole matter will be resolved and the court order will not come up again,” a voice is heard saying in the video.
SaharaReporters gathered that after N20 million was paid to UBA Account 2317939457, belonging to Ike Onwuka Chinedu, supposedly for the settlement of the CP and IGP, they then instructed him to settle his friend Michael, who they claimed he owed N400 million.
“They asked him to pay N30 million to settle his friend and provided an account for the payment. The account belonged to one Chinedu,” one of the sources told SaharaReporters.
“The policemen then told him that out of the N100 million, he would need to pay them N10 million, representing 10 percent of the total amount. They claimed this was their fee for recovering money.
“They provided a Sterling Bank account, 0074619796, belonging to Abah Emeka Samuel, where he paid the N10 million. After paying the money, totalling N60 million, IPO Emmanuel Ahamefuna demanded an additional N2 million to change the statement they had asked him to sign. Although they knew he wasn’t a member of IPOB ESN, they insisted on N2 million to alter the statement. This brought the total to N62 million. After this, they released him that night to go and gather the remaining N100 million. Meanwhile, they kept his Hilux van.
“When he said he had already paid N30 million, they responded that the N30 million was for a peace deal and that he needed to bring a fresh N100 million.”
A close friend of Mr. Agwu told SaharaReporters that when he was released, he mentioned he was looking for N100 million.
“I told him that since he had already paid N30 million, with N70 million remaining, and they were now demanding a fresh N100 million, there was every indication that even if he paid the N100 million, the demands would continue. He should instead inform the authorities about what was happening,” the friend said.
According to the friend, who gave his name as Okachi Ozola, “Mr. Agwu is not a member of IPOB/ESN, but he told me that he mentioned in his statement that he had a business with his friend Michael when he was in Vietnam before he was deported”.
He said, “His friend provided an account for a transaction with a white man, who then paid the money. Unfortunately, because his friend didn’t share any portion of the money the white man paid, my friend backed out.
“Aggrieved that after my friend backed out of their business, he couldn’t convince the white man to pay him for any further business. He felt my friend might have diverted the man to another business or cornered him. So that was the only issue.
“Using his relationship with the police commissioner in Enugu State, his friend decided to leverage the law to abduct him and keep him at the anti-kidnapping unit, threatening to kill him if he didn’t pay the N400 million they thought he might have made from the business. They weren’t sure if he made any money, so labelling him a member of IPOB ESN was the only way to extort money from him.”
SaharaReporters learned that when they were at the CP’s office on Saturday, CP Kanayo Uzuegbu said that if Mr. Agwu paid the N100 million, the allegations of being a kidnapper and a member of IPOB ESN would be permanently closed.
Audio evidence obtained by SaharaReporters reveals a conversation between Agwu and the police, in which the officers demand payment and threaten to declare him wanted if he does not comply.
Calls for Accountability
The incident has raised concerns about police brutality, extortion, and the misuse of power. There are calls for the authorities to investigate the allegations and hold those responsible accountable.
As one source noted, “The police are supposed to protect citizens, not extort money from them.”
When SaharaReporters contacted the State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Daniel Ndukwe, for a response, he denied any knowledge of the matter.
He said: “I have not heard anything of such in Enugu, anywhere in Enugu. But if you have such reports, kindly forward the evidence to me. Let me see.”
Meanwhile, efforts to speak with the Commissioner of Police were unsuccessful, as he did not answer his calls.
