The Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre, RULAAC, has petitioned the Inspector General of Police, IGP, over the arrest and detention of Mr. Leonard Uzoma and Mr. Ndubuisi Uchehara by officers of the Nigeria Police Force attached to the Force Intelligence Department (FID).
RULAAC, in its petition requested the IGP to order the immediate release of the two men unless there exists credible and lawful grounds warranting their continued detentio
Giving a background to the case, the rights group said on 29 June 2026, Credo Legal, Solicitors to Uzoma, submitted a petition to the Commissioner of Police, Imo State Command, concerning the assault and other human rights violations allegedly committed against their client by officers attached to the Special Protection Unit (SPU), Base 9, Umuahia.
According to RULAAC, the officers were alleged to have acted at the instance of Mr. Michael Igbo, an estate developer connected with the estate where Uzoma resides, following a disagreement relating to the electricity connection within the estate.
It said the petition detailed how the officers assaulted Mr. Uzoma, tore his clothes, humiliated him and his wife, verbally abused his wife, and discharged tear gas within his residential compound, exposing his young children and other members of his household to unnecessary trauma and distress.
RULAAC’s petition further reads:
“Following receipt of the petition, the X-Squad Unit of the Imo State Police Command promptly commenced an investigation.
“Engr. Uzoma honoured the invitation of the Unit and made a formal statement on 2 July 2026.
“Mr. Michael Igbo was thereafter invited for questioning but reportedly failed to honour the invitation.
“Instead, he requested a two-week extension and subsequently failed to appear on the rescheduled date of 24 July 2026.
“In addition, Engr. Uzoma instituted an action for the enforcement of his fundamental rights before the High Court of Imo State in Suit No. HOW/444/2026.
“We understand that the originating processes have been served on Mr. Igbo’s legal representatives and that the matter is scheduled for hearing on 28 July 2026.
“While both the police investigation and the court proceedings were pending, the transformer supplying electricity to the estate was discovered to have been removed.
“Acting in his capacity as Secretary of the Estate, Engr. Uzoma, together with the Chairman of the Estate, Mr. Ndubuisi Uchehara, reported the incident to the Imo State Police Command.
“We understand that during the ensuing investigation, members of the estate security personnel were arrested and questioned, and that one of them reportedly stated that the transformer had been removed at about 4:00 a.m. by Mr. Michael Igbo.
“Consequently, the Imo State Police Command invited Engr. Uzoma and Mr. Uchehara to report to the Police Headquarters on Friday, 24 July 2026, in connection with the investigation into the missing transformer.
“Shockingly, while honouring that invitation and upon arriving in front of the Imo State Police Headquarters, the two men were allegedly intercepted and arrested by officers attached to the Force Intelligence Department on allegations of transformer vandalism. We are informed that this arrest was carried out at the instance of Mr. Michael Igbo.
“Rather than submitting himself to the ongoing investigation by the X-Squad Unit into the allegations against him, Mr. Igbo reportedly caused the matter to be transferred or referred to the Force Intelligence Department, Abuja. Engr. Uzoma and Mr. Uchehara were immediately taken from Owerri to Enugu, where they were detained overnight on Friday, 24 July 2026.”
RULAAC said the two men were on Saturday reportedly transported by road from Enugu to Abuja and remained in police custody.
“These developments raise grave concerns regarding the abuse of police powers, interference with an ongoing investigation, victimisation of a complainant, and the possible use of the Nigeria Police Force to advance private interests in a civil dispute.
“It is particularly troubling that a complainant in an ongoing police investigation and a pending fundamental rights enforcement action could suddenly become the subject of another police operation allegedly initiated by the very individual against whom serious allegations are being investigated.
“The sequence of events creates a reasonable apprehension that the criminal process is being employed to intimidate, punish, and frustrate a complainant seeking justice and to undermine both the ongoing investigation by the Imo State Police Command and the pending proceedings before the High Court.”
The rights group also requested the IGP to direct an urgent review of the circumstances surrounding their arrest, detention, and transfer from Owerri to Enugu and onward to Abuja.
RULAAC also requested the IGP to investigate the role of officers of the Force Intelligence Department in the matter and determine whether due process and the provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, the Nigeria Police Act 2020, and the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria were complied with.
It is asking the police boss to investigate the allegation that police powers are being deployed at the instance of Mr. Michael Igbo to intimidate and victimise Engr. Uzoma following his petition and pending fundamental rights action.
Other requests by the group to the IGP included that he should “ensure that the investigation already commenced by the X-Squad Unit of the Imo State Police Command into the alleged assault by SPU officers proceeds independently, professionally, and without interference.
“Take appropriate disciplinary and administrative measures against any officer found to have abused police powers or acted improperly.”
RULAAC requested the IGP’s urgent intervention to prevent further abuse of process and to reassure members of the public that the Nigeria Police Force would not permit its investigative machinery to be used as an instrument of oppression or private vendetta.
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