The Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC) has asked the Anambra State Governor to order an independent investigation into the reported shooting and disappearance of a gatekeeper, the alleged brutalisation of a landowner and seven others, and alleged interference with police bail in Achalla, Awka North Local Government Area.
In a letter dated 4 November 2026 and signed by its Executive Director, Okechukwu Nwanguma, the group said it had received accounts implicating members of Agunechemba/Operation Udogachi, the state’s security outfit. The accounts also allege the involvement of the Governor’s Special Adviser on Community Security, Mr. Ken Emeakayi. RULAAC said the claims call for a prompt, impartial, transparent and effective inquiry independent of the individuals and security structures named.
According to the account of Mr. Jude Nwoye Anokwu, at about 8:30 a.m. on 17 October, he sent his gatekeeper, Chibuzor, also known as “Ability,” to Oye Achalla Market to buy food. A woman then reportedly called Mr. Anokwu’s brother, Uchenna, to say that a group of men, accompanied by persons identified as Operation Udogachi personnel, had chased and shot Chibuzor. An eyewitness reportedly saw him shot in both legs and driven away in a Sienna vehicle. His family does not know where he is or what condition he is in, and RULAAC said it has also received an unconfirmed report of his death.
Mr. Anokwu alleges that the same group later surrounded his home, fired at his CCTV cameras, entered the property, vandalised it and beat him while demanding a firearm he says he does not own. He says money, a gold wristwatch and other valuables were taken. He says he was taken first to premises belonging to a Chuma Onwuzurike, allegedly used as a camp, and then to a residence he identified as Mr. Emeakayi’s, where he alleges he was pressured to record video statements admitting to acts he denies.
RULAAC said Mr. Anokwu and seven others were moved to the State Criminal Investigation Department (CID) later that night, after the group raised the alarm. The group said it was told the Commissioner of Police authorised their bail on 21 October. Mr. Anokwu alleges that Mr. Emeakayi challenged the bail decision and insisted on a court order for their remand, and that the detainees were then taken away in handcuffs to premises associated with Mr. Emeakayi before being returned to the State CID the next morning. RULAAC said that when it contacted Mr. Emeakayi, he denied knowing where Mr. Anokwu and the others were. The group stressed that these accounts must be checked against custody registers, bail documents, movement records, recordings and communications, that everyone implicated must be given a chance to respond, and that witnesses must be protected from intimidation.
Mr. Anokwu’s family says the events stem from efforts to dispossess him of land inherited from his late father. RULAAC said it intervened in 2025 after he was arrested, moved from Anambra to Lagos and detained at the Zone 2 Police Command over similar allegations. It understands that the then Assistant Inspector-General of Police ordered his release after concluding that the matter was a land dispute presented as a criminal case. The group urged that the records of that case be examined to establish whether the latest arrests rest on credible new evidence or are a renewed use of security personnel in a private dispute.
“Was Agunechemba/Operation Udogachi established to protect the people of Anambra State, or is it being used by powerful individuals to harass, intimidate, dispossess or kill people over private disputes?” the group asked the Governor. It called for clarity on the roles of Agunechemba, Operation Udogachi and Mr. Emeakayi, including their command structure, powers and relationship with the Nigeria Police Force, and asked whether the government has authorised the use of private residences or informal camps for detention or interrogation, and what safeguards exist against coerced recordings and interference with police bail.
RULAAC asked the Governor to set up an independent investigation with the Inspector-General of Police and oversight bodies, with no involvement of Mr. Emeakayi or other implicated personnel. It also asked that Chibuzor’s whereabouts and condition be established immediately. If he is alive, the group said, he should get medical care and access to his family and lawyers; if he is dead, his family should be formally notified, his remains preserved and an independent post-mortem carried out.
The group further asked that each alleged violation be investigated, including the shooting, assault, property damage, theft, coerced recordings, obstruction of bail and movement of detainees to private premises. It wants accounts obtained from Mr. Emeakayi and others implicated, interference with witnesses and evidence prevented, and implicated personnel removed from operational duties where necessary. RULAAC also asked for the preservation of all relevant evidence, including CCTV footage, recordings, deployment and weapons records, custody registers, communications and the 2025 Zone 2 case file, as well as protection for complainants, their families and witnesses from reprisals, and discipline, prosecution and remedies where wrongdoing is established.
The group said Mr. Anokwu’s wife, who has five young children including infant twins, fears for her husband’s life and the family’s safety. It asked for written acknowledgment and an initial report on steps taken within seven days, and said efforts to find Chibuzor must begin at once.
“Public confidence is undermined when residents fear that security personnel may be deployed against them at the request of an opponent in a private dispute,” the letter said, while acknowledging the state’s serious security challenges.
The letter was copied to the Inspector-General of Police, the Commissioner of Police for Anambra State, the Executive Secretary of the National Human Rights Commission and the Chairman of the Police Service Commission.
