A Nigerian man has taken to Facebook to recount a harrowing ordeal at the hands of personnel of the Nigeria Police Force.
Writing under the handle Oni Foto, though it remains unclear if he owns the account, he narrated how he was forcefully arrested, accused of trumped-up crimes, and subjected to severe torture.
According to him, the officers not only physically assaulted him with repeated punches and beatings but also ruthlessly groped his genitals. His wife, who was present during the incident, was reportedly tear-gassed.
The victim said he feared for his life as the policemen continuously threatened to kill him and insisted no one would ever know. He was first accused of drug trafficking, then of cyber-fraud. After denying both allegations, he was brutally beaten and forced to sign a statement dictated to him by the officers.
Led by Officer Kalu, the policemen allegedly demanded ₦10 million from him before bargaining down the sum. He described the ordeal as “buying his own life and freedom.” The officers, he further alleged, kept him hidden at the back of the FCID office, without formally registering him at the counter or recording his case in the incident log.
The man shared his experience on social media, appealing for justice and accountability.
Cc. CSP Benjamin Hundeyin
Please help! This is an SOS!
This is a case of kidnap and extortion by your men.
Kalu is not bigger than the entire police force or Nigerians at large.
***********************
Dear Nigerian Police Force, (AIG Margaret Ochalla),
I am writing to formally file a complaint against a group of police officers from FCID Ikoyi who unlawfully arrested and physically assaulted me, and threatened me and my entire family on Tuesday morning, around 7:20 a.m. on the 12th of August, 2025, at Unity Estate, Egbeda.
* On the above-mentioned date, the policemen forcefully barged in through my landlady’s shop and dragged me out, claiming that they had a petition against me. They did not even know my name, nor did they introduce themselves. At that time, I was actually on my way to my shop, so I questioned them and asked that they show me and my family the petition before I went with them. They kept saying they had several petitions against me, but showed me nothing. I had no idea where they were taking me. I kept asking them for my name, but they did not know it and just kept beating me with the back of their guns, hitting me, and dragging me into their minibus.
There were about four to five officers, dragging and beating me. They still did not know my name, yet they claimed they had my warrant of arrest, a court order, and a search warrant.
Because they were unable to provide any warrant, we were all scared that they might not even be policemen but kidnappers disguised as officers. They were not in uniform, except for two men dressed in black, armed with guns, teargas, a short knife, and handcuffs, dressed like MOPOLs who had been hired.
During the arrest, I was physically assaulted by the officers. My wife was also beaten by them, and one officer pulled her hair, dragged her, and sprayed teargas into her eyes several times, leaving her unable to see for the entire day.
The same happened to my wife’s younger sister, who is just 18 years old. They beat her mercilessly, pulled her hair, and also sprayed teargas into her eyes (she is currently receiving medical treatment and is recovering). I am attaching medical documentation as evidence, as well as a video of the arrest.
I overheard the officers chatting among themselves, saying that it looked like my neighbor had money and that they would come back for him too.
After I was dragged into their minibus, they drove me about 500–700 meters and began beating me again. Their main boss, whom I later learned was called Kalu while at their office, was the one spitting on my face and punching me.
Meanwhile, the Yoruba man with them dragged my private part for over 10–15 seconds, saying I was trying to spoil their operation. Another person tightened the handcuffs on my wrists to the point of almost breaking them, while one Hausa man, who was armed, choked me from behind the seat since I was sitting at the front.
They beat, tortured, and dehumanized me throughout the ride to Ikoyi. At some point, I started screaming “kidnappers, kidnappers!” and that was when they began beating me all over again.
Not knowing exactly what my offense was, I began begging for my life, because no sane police officers would ever arrest someone and beat them so ruthlessly. When we arrived at their office, they kept threatening my life, saying that my family and I would regret that day, and that if I was even still alive by the time my family got to FCID Alagbon, I would see.
I had no choice but to obey because I was scared to death and almost unconscious. When we got to Ikoyi FCID police station, I felt slightly relieved because I realised it was not kidnapping.
Upon bringing me down from their vehicle, they composed themselves, removed my handcuffs, and Mr. Kalu told me to hold one of their bags while they escorted me to the backyard of the police station as if nothing had happened. I was shocked, because I was neither registered nor detained.
Before I knew it, they began questioning me, saying they had arrested me because I was involved in drugs and fraud. After several questions and threats in Mr. Kalu’s office, they suddenly changed the story, saying their intel indicated I had collected money through “Yahoo Yahoo.”
They demanded to know how much I collected and warned me not to lie. I told them they had arrested the wrong person, but Mr. Kalu and his partner began beating me again.
After a few minutes, the Yoruba officer told Mr. Kalu to step outside because he wanted to have a conversation with me. He came in and began threatening me, saying that if I was not into drugs or Yahoo Yahoo, I should just admit to one of them.
He warned me that he was not ready to release me, that nobody would know where I was, and that I should just say something. Then he demanded that I unlock my phone.
He searched my phone thoroughly but could not find anything to pin on me. Then he told me to agree that I was into Yahoo Yahoo, because everything was a matter of settlement. He said that if I agreed to the statement they wanted, we could negotiate. I thanked him and asked him to call his boss, Kalu.
I then fabricated a story, saying I had been into Yahoo before, but no longer was. He asked me when I stopped, and I said I could not remember. He pressed me to say something, so I mentioned 2016/2017.
Then I asked him, now that I had told him what he wanted to hear, to allow me to speak to my family so they would know I had not been kidnapped. He refused, saying he had made no such deal with me, and accused me of lying. He then brought out a statement sheet and told me to write down what I had just said.
I asked him why, but before I knew it, he began beating me again with a stick, punching me in my stomach and face, and threatening me with teargas. Out of fear for my life, I agreed to cooperate. During all this time in the office, they still did not know my name.
I was torn about whether to write my real name or use a false one. If I used a false name, my family would never be able to find me. Eventually, I gave in and wrote my real name. While I was writing the introduction, they saw my name and went to look for old petition documents with the name “OLAWALE FAWAS.”
They told me that if I did not write exactly what they wanted, I would be beaten again. The Yoruba officer even began dictating how I should compose the statement and invent amounts of money.
At that point, I stopped writing and realised that everything I was writing was like digging my own grave.
I reminded Mr. Kalu that he had earlier accused me of being into drugs and defrauding someone in July, so I asked where the complainant and the evidence were.
Before I could say more, I was punched again and beaten with a mop stick until it broke into pieces. They beat me until I nearly passed out.
Then Mr. Kalu and the Yoruba officer threatened to put me in an underground prison where I would not see sunlight, warning me that I would eventually beg to write statements.
They picked up my phone again and told me to unlock it. When they saw pictures of me driving, they asked why I should be driving a car. I explained that I was not into drugs or fraud, and that if I wrote any statement, it would only benefit them. Mr. Kalu told his partner that they should make me write about how I got the car.
I boldly told them that I was into forex trading, was a crypto vendor, and also ran a wholesale foodstuff business. They went through everything on my phone, training, students, Bitcoin vendor transactions, and when they saw the transactions, they said I had money and must “drop something” or I would not be released, because “forex is also a scam.”
When I tried to explain that I bought crypto, converted it to fiat, took my profits, and paid customers, they ignored me and began punching me again in the face. Other officers passed by but showed no concern. At that point, I knew they were all the same.
Eventually, he got angry and was about to put me in prison. By God’s grace, I saw my family outside the station searching everywhere for me. With the little strength I had left, I shouted, “I’m here! I’m here!”
Because they had been looking for me for over an hour. But Mr. Kalu picked up a call from my phone, insulted the caller, and told them never to call the number again.
That was one of the threats he had made that if I did not complete the statement, I would not see my family, and he would not let them see me.
After I was put in the prison cell, my wife called a lawyer to attend to my case due to the unlawful arrest. However, Mr. Kalu told the lawyer to inform me that if I was not ready to cooperate with him and write exactly what he dictated, then they would negotiate how much I should bribe him or else I would remain in prison, and my reputation would be destroyed. He said the lawyer could either play along or open a court file.
After much pleading from my parents, friends, and one of my father’s associates, Mr. Kalu eventually brought me out of the prison and told me to meet my lawyer.
The lawyer explained everything: that if the case went to court, he did not know when the hearing would be scheduled, and I could remain in prison for weeks or even months.
He advised that my only option was to write and admit that I was into fraud, so that they could bargain for my release.
I had no choice, because I was too weak to even stand upright. I was forced to comply. While I was writing what they dictated, Mr. Kalu searched my phone again, going through everything, looking for more evidence to pin against me. He warned me not to make any mistakes in the statement, or else the agreement with the lawyer would be void.
To cut the story short, after I finished writing the false statement they forced on me, Mr. Kalu demanded a bribe of *10 million naira.* That was when I realised I had already been trapped, because I had written the statement he wanted. After repeated pleading, he reduced the amount to *5 million naira.*
I showed him my account balance, which was not even up to ₦200,000. He became angry and wrote my full name on a board, alongside different fabricated crimes, and told me to hold the board.
He threatened to ruin my reputation by posting the image online, or else I should use my contacts to raise the ₦5 million. I had no other choice. He sent me back to prison.
When I returned, the other prisoners asked why I was there. I explained in detail, and the oldest prisoner, who was the “Number One” (prison leader), said he would help me report my case to the CSO.
He consulted the CSO, who came to the prison, listened to part of my story, and promised to come back the next day because of the unlawful acts committed by Mr. Kalu and his associates.
Around 7 p.m., Mr. Kalu came again looking for me, still not knowing my name. Both the prisoners and the prison warden briefly witnessed the kind of intimidation I had described.
He later pulled me out of the cell and told me that my family had agreed to pay his bribe. He said it was up to me to raise *2 million naira* or be taken back to prison while my family was sent away.
I had no choice but to agree. Under his watch, I began making calls and sending messages, begging for financial help. My family managed to raise ₦970,000. A friend sent ₦300,000, and another friend sent me cryptocurrency, which I converted along with the little I had in my wallet, totalling about ₦769,250.
I told him I had managed to raise the money and asked for his account details. He refused, saying he did not accept transfers; he only wanted cash.
He directed us to a POS agent to withdraw the money, even though it was already around 8 p.m. The POS lady charged us ₦37,000 for the transaction.
At first, the transfer showed “pending,” which made me panic, but it later reversed, and I had to split the amount into three transactions to withdraw it fully.
When we handed over the *₦2 million cash* to Mr. Kalu, he told me he was not done with me. He said he wanted to see my wife in his office because she and her sister had interrupted his operation, and he would not let them go free.
He collected their pictures, our NIN details, and even my children’s pictures from my phone, saving them to his device. Only after this did he let us sign some papers before finally releasing us.
I strongly believe that this arrest was unlawful and a direct violation of my constitutional rights. My wife and sister are now living in fear of what Mr. Kalu may do to them again, or of the possibility that he could send another squad using the personal details he obtained from us to harass or abduct us.
I am seeking justice, not only so that my family can live freely, but also so that other citizens of Nigeria will not have to go through the same horrific experience that I endured.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
