The family of Mr. Eme Alfred Friday, supported by the Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC), has demanded his release after he was allegedly abducted in Gestapo style in Lagos by a police team from Enugu State and detained incommunicado for nearly three months.
RULAAC’s Executive Director, Okechukwu Nwanguma, accused the police of weaponising law enforcement through fabricated charges and abduction-style arrests to extort and intimidate citizens. He made the allegations during a press conference in Lagos.
Friday’s brother, Sunday Eme, said police from both Lagos and Enugu commands collected different sums of money from the family. He also alleged that officers forced Friday to sign a statement written by a senior police officer, admitting to financing Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), an outlawed group, perceived to be terrorists. Friday has since denied the claim, insisting the only money he sent, just over N7000, was payment to a carpenter.
Nwanguma described it as shocking that officers travelled from Enugu to abduct Friday in Lagos, then denied relatives and his lawyer access to him. “He was held incommunicado for over a month before being charged with bogus offences,” he said.
According to Nwanguma, the ordeal began on June 26, 2025, when armed operatives from the Enugu Anti-Kidnapping Unit stormed Friday’s residence in Lagos and arrested him without a warrant, in front of his wife. For days, police denied knowledge of his whereabouts, which Nwanguma called an “enforced disappearance” and a grave violation of constitutional rights.
“Friday was held secretly in Enugu for over a month, denied access to his family or a lawyer. One of the most insidious tactics in Nigeria’s law enforcement culture is the use of trumped-up charges,” he said, accusing officers of routinely fabricating cases of armed robbery, cultism, kidnapping, terrorism, or IPOB membership to extort victims.
He said Friday’s treatment worsened after RULAAC publicised the case, with police allegedly threatening his wife and intimidating his lawyer to silence them.
Friday was later arraigned, which Nwanguma described as retaliation rather than justice. He said the police charged Friday with IPOB membership and linked him to other fabricated offences. RULAAC also accused police and court officials of colluding to deny his lawyer access to the charge sheet, frustrating his defence.
“The judiciary, instead of checking abuse, became complicit,” the group’s statement read.
Nwanguma cited other cases where the IPOB label was used to justify malicious prosecutions, including Jude Nwoye Anokwu, abducted over a land dispute, and Gloria Okolie, who was allegedly turned into a domestic slave in police custody. He condemned what he called “criminal policing,” where specialised units act like “predator gangs.”
Complaints filed with the Enugu Commissioner of Police, the Inspector General, and the Police Service Commission have so far gone unanswered.
RULAAC demanded an investigation and prosecution of the officers involved, naming Supol John Elia of the Enugu Anti-Kidnapping Unit. The group also called for Friday’s immediate release, compensation, and public clearance of all charges, as well as an overhaul of Anti-Kidnapping Units to include civilian oversight.
“The case of Alfred Friday is a tragic reminder of how far Nigeria’s policing system has derailed,” Nwanguma said. “If police can abduct a citizen, conceal his whereabouts, fabricate charges, and collude with courts with impunity, then no Nigerian is safe.”
