The Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC) has called on Anambra State authorities to account for the whereabouts of a gatekeeper allegedly shot during a raid on the Awka North home of Mr. Jude Nwoye Anokwu, who is now reportedly in detention.
In a statement signed by its Executive Director, Okechukwu Nwanguma, the group said it was “seriously concerned” about the reported invasion of Anokwu’s residence in Udezu Village, Achalla, on Saturday, 17 October 2026.
According to information available to RULAAC, armed men believed to include personnel of the state security outfit, Operation Udogachi, and armed persons from Udezu Village stormed the property. The operation was reportedly led by Mr. Chijioke Ekwelie, also known as “Sese Kolombo.”
The group said Anokwu’s gatekeeper, identified only as Chibuzo, was allegedly shot by a man named Atanda. His location and condition are unknown, and he is reportedly not among those held with Anokwu. The house and other property were also allegedly vandalised or destroyed.
Anokwu was reportedly taken away violently along with several visiting friends, and their vehicle and personal belongings were also taken. RULAAC said it had been informed that Anokwu and the others are being held at the State Criminal Investigation Department in Awka.
Nwanguma said the incident “cannot be considered in isolation,” pointing to similarities with Anokwu’s arrest on 24 July 2025, which arose from the same long-running dispute over land he inherited from his family.
In that earlier incident, RULAAC alleged, local actors from Udezu Village working with police personnel invaded his home at about 5:30 a.m., beat him with wooden planks, sprayed tear gas into his eyes, handcuffed him and took him to Achalla Police Division. He was then handed over to a police team from Zone 2 Command, Lagos, and taken across state lines to Lagos “without any apparent jurisdictional justification,” the statement said.
At Zone 2 Command, he was reportedly confronted with allegations of conspiracy, terrorism, threat to life, conduct likely to cause a breach of the peace and association with IPOB/ESN. RULAAC said he was assaulted and injured in the ribs and jaw, and that bail conditions requiring two sureties with landed property in Lagos were imposed, although he lived in Anambra and had no meaningful connection with Lagos.
Following RULAAC’s intervention, the then Assistant Inspector-General of Police in charge of Zone 2 reviewed the case and ordered his release. Anokwu later needed medical treatment for injuries he allegedly sustained.
RULAAC said the latest operation, reportedly involving some of the same local interests, raises “a reasonable concern” that it may be a continuation of efforts to dispossess him of inherited family land through intimidation, violence and the manipulation of security agencies.
The group also said it had received information that plans may have been made to accuse Anokwu of harbouring IPOB/ESN members and training so-called “Yahoo boys.” It stressed that it does not present these claims, or the accusations against him, as facts. However, it said the recycling of grave security allegations like those used against him in 2025 “demands urgent and impartial scrutiny.”
“Allegations of terrorism or criminal association must never become convenient instruments for settling land disputes,” Nwanguma said.
RULAAC said it was further informed that the operation and detention were carried out under the authority of Mr. Ken Emeakai, identified as the Governor’s Security Adviser and commander of Operation Udogachi. It called on him and the outfit’s leadership to publicly clarify the legal and factual basis for the operation, and the identities and official status of everyone who took part. It also asked them to say whether armed civilians from Udezu Village accompanied security personnel and why, how the gatekeeper came to be shot, who took him away and where he is now, and where Anokwu and the others are held. Finally, it asked them to explain the legal basis for taking the vehicle and belongings, and whether the operation relates to a genuine criminal investigation or the continuing family-land dispute.
The group addressed its appeal to the Governor of Anambra State, the State Security Adviser, the leadership of Operation Udogachi and the Commissioner of Police, Anambra State Command, urging them to act “fairly, transparently and strictly in the interest of justice.”
RULAAC said the immediate priority must be to locate the gatekeeper, disclose his whereabouts and condition to his family, and ensure he gets urgent medical care if he is alive and injured. His reported shooting and disappearance, it said, must be independently investigated, and anyone holding him must immediately account for his custody.
It also demanded that Anokwu and the others detained be given immediate access to their families, lawyers and medical care, be clearly informed of any allegation against them, and, if credible evidence exists, be promptly charged before a competent court or released without delay.
The group further called for investigation of the alleged invasion, shooting, disappearance, destruction of property and removal of belongings, with anyone found to have committed an offence, “whether a security operative, community member or private individual,” held accountable.
On the underlying dispute, RULAAC said it should be resolved through lawful civil processes, “not armed raids, detention or unsubstantiated security allegations.” It urged the Anambra State Government to ensure that Operation Udogachi does not become available to powerful private interests as an instrument of intimidation or dispossession.
“Security institutions exist to protect citizens and enforce the law impartially,” Nwanguma said. “They must never be deployed as weapons in private disputes.”
