By Izunna Okafor, Awka
An Anambra-based businessman, simply identified as Mr. Chibuike, has raised serious allegations against some officers of the recently-launched homeland security outfit in the State, Operation Udo Ga-Achi, accusing them of abduction, extortion, intimidation, and forced confession under duress.
Chibuike’s allegations was contained in posts currently trending on social media, in which he also claimed that he could recall the Moniepoint account name the officers used to extort him.
Recounting his harrowing ordeal, Mr. Chibuike claimed he was recently kidnapped at gunpoint by operatives of the said security outfit and taken to a remote forest, an incident, he said, culminated in his coercion into transferring a total of ₦1.5 million to unknown bank accounts — all under threats to his life.
According to him, the incident stemmed from a minor misunderstanding at a boutique in Awka, which quickly escalated into a nightmare.
“I had a small misunderstanding with the owner of a boutique,” he narrated. “Before I knew it, the boutique owner called operatives of Operation Udo Ga Achi. He falsely accused me of trying to steal a pair of jean shorts. He even claimed I was the one responsible for all the missing items in his shop.”
Chibuike further alleged that upon their arrival, the security operatives took sides with the boutique owner without conducting any investigation or giving him a fair hearing.
“They told me I must pay ₦420,000 for the missing clothes and ₦80,000 for the pair of jeans I had wanted to buy. They forced me to transfer the money right there,” he recounted.
He said the situation, however, worsened after that payment. According to him, rather than release him, the operatives reportedly dragged him into a waiting vehicle, zoomed off, and drove for more than an hour into a very bushy area.
“When we got to the bush, they ordered me to open my mobile banking app. When they saw I had ₦9 million in my account, they told me to transfer all of it to them,” he explained, still visibly shaken from the incident.
He said he pleaded with them, explaining that he had a daily transfer limit of ₦500,000, but the people ignored his pleas.
“They kept trying different amounts until they finally succeeded in forcing me to transfer ₦500,000 at midnight. Then the next day, they forced another ₦500,000 from me — totaling ₦1 million, in addition to the ₦500,000 I paid earlier at the boutique.”
Chibuike said as if the financial extortion wasn’t enough, he was also subjected to a humiliating and psychologically traumatizing experience before being released.
“Before they released me, they forced me to record a video where I confessed to being a thief. They held a gun to my head and made me say I was sorry and would never steal again. That video is now circulating online, and people are calling me a criminal. But I want the world to know: I am not a thief. I was forced to say all that under duress.”
He added that he knows the Moniepoint account name to which the funds were transferred and is appealing to the authorities to track the account and investigate the incident thoroughly.
“They told me if I report to anyone, they will find me and kill me. But I can’t keep quiet. I want justice. My life is in danger, and my reputation is already being destroyed,” he lamented.
The allegations have since sparked off a chain of reactions and counter-reactions on social media, with netizens mounting calls on the government and other relevant authorities to launch immediate investigation into the activities of Operation Udo Ga-Achi, which many residents now fear may be operating outside the bounds of law and ethics.
When contacted by this reporter, the Police Public Relations Officer of the State, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, said there was no such report before him.
Further efforts by this reporter to get the reactions of the Special Adviser to the Governor on Homeland Security, Chief Ken Emeakayi, proved abortive, as he was yet to respond to his calls and messages sent by the reporter as at the time of filing this report.
Meanwhile, no official statement had been released by relevant authorities regarding the matter.
