The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has called on the Inspector General of Police, Olatunji Disu, to order an immediate investigation into an alleged midnight police raid in Imo State.
The group said the incident raised serious concerns about legality, professionalism and human rights compliance within the Nigeria Police Force.
HURIWA, through its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, said it had obtained a formal petition submitted to the Assistant Inspector General of Police, Zone 9 Headquarters, Umuahia, by Jesmond Okonkwo, Solicitors and Legal Consultants, Owerri.
The petition details a volatile family dispute following the death of Mr Vitus Ugbaja, who reportedly died in July 2025 in Kafanchan, Kaduna State.
According to the petition, tensions arose between members of the deceased’s family and his widow, Mrs Chibuzor Ugbaja, over burial arrangements scheduled for March 21 and March 22, 2026, as well as disputes over the late man’s property.
HURIWA expressed concern over events in the early hours of today, describing as disturbing allegations that at about 3:00 a.m., the widow arrived with armed police officers reportedly from the Criminal Investigation Department in Owerri and stormed the residence of the deceased’s family.
The petition alleged that the officers arrested the brothers of the late Mr Ugbaja in what was described as a “brutal, Gestapo-style operation” aimed at disrupting burial arrangements and intimidating the family.
The association said the incident was more troubling as the Assistant Inspector General of Police overseeing Imo, Abia and Ebonyi states was reportedly already handling the matter before the alleged raid.
“HURIWA strongly condemns what it describes—if confirmed—as a reckless descent into institutional abuse, where police operatives are allegedly deployed in the dead of night to intervene in a civil family dispute involving burial rites and inheritance tensions.
Such conduct, if true, represents a dangerous erosion of police neutrality and a blatant affront to constitutional safeguards against arbitrary arrest, intimidation, and abuse of state power.
The association warns that Nigeria cannot afford a policing culture where grief-stricken families are subjected to armed midnight invasions, allegedly coordinated under questionable circumstances and outside due process.
HURIWA is therefore demanding urgent and decisive action from the Inspector General of Police to launch a high-level investigation into the alleged midnight operation in Imo State.
Identify all officers involved in the operation and determine whether due authorisation was obtained.
The group also wants IGP to sanction any personnel found guilty of acting outside lawful orders or engaging in professional misconduct, immediate and unconditional release of the detained siblings of the deceased if they are being held unlawfully, and reaffirmation of internal disciplinary controls within the Imo State Police Command to prevent further erosion of public trust.
HURIWA further called on the Imo State Commissioner of Police to publicly account for this alleged operation and take responsibility for any breakdown in command discipline within the state command.
The group warned that repeated allegations of heavy-handed policing, arbitrary arrests and operational indiscipline across parts of the country risk turning law enforcement into instruments of fear rather than justice.
“The Nigeria Police Force must not be reduced to a tool allegedly deployed in family disputes under the cover of darkness. The rule of law must not be replaced with the rule of force.
The Inspector General of Police is urged to act swiftly, transparently, and decisively before this matter escalates into a national embarrassment,” it added.
When contacted, the command’s spokesperson, Henry Okoye, said the CP has directed investigation in the matter.
