A Lagos-based civil society organisation, the Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC), has renewed its appeal to Abia State Governor, Dr Alex Otti, demanding accountability and compensation for a family whose home was demolished by police during a 2025 operation that the group says left one woman dead and her household traumatised.
In a follow-up letter dated 20 June 2026, RULAAC’s Executive Director, Okechukwu Nwanguma, asked the governor for an update on an investigation he reportedly ordered after the group first raised the matter in March.
More than three months after that initial appeal and over a year after the incident itself, the organisation said it had received no information on the outcome of the probe or any remedial steps taken.
According to RULAAC, the case centres on Mr Sunday Chikadibia and his three daughters, Glory, Ngozi and Ogechi, who were arrested by police operatives in Alaukwu, Osisioma Ngwa Local Government Area, on 12 April 2025.
The group said the family members were held without being told why, and that their phones and personal communications were searched while they faced accusations that were never substantiated.
RULAAC said the family’s house was demolished while relatives were still in detention, and that household items and personal belongings were carted away without any documented record of what was seized.
The group described the toll on the family as severe, citing the death of Mrs Chioma Chikadibia on 8 August 2025. Relatives told RULAAC that her health declined sharply after her husband and daughters were arrested and the family home destroyed.
A lawyer who represented the family was quoted by RULAAC as calling it one of the most shocking cases of abuse he had encountered, pointing to the prosecution of an entire household despite what he described as a lack of evidence tying them to any offence.
In its letter, RULAAC outlined a series of measures it wants the Abia State government to take. These include the public disclosure of the investigation’s findings, along with disciplinary or other action against any officers found culpable; compensation for the demolished home and related losses; property restitution for allegedly seized assets during the operation; and resettlement and housing support for the displaced family.
The group also called for educational support for Ogechi Chikadibia, whose schooling was disrupted, psychosocial and humanitarian assistance for surviving family members, and reforms to prevent similar incidents and strengthen accountability in law enforcement.
The group credited the Otti administration with responding promptly to its earlier letter and ordering an investigation, but said the lack of any further communication had left the family in the dark about the case’s status.
RULAAC argued that justice in such cases cannot be measured solely by the release of those wrongfully detained, but must also include restitution and restoration for the harm caused.
It urged the state government to conclude its investigation transparently and act on remedial measures “without further delay.”
