Nnaji Chidiebere Samuel, a returning student of the Cyprus University who is also the son of late former Enugu State High Court Judge, Justice Stanley Nnaji has raised the alarm over threat to his life and harassment by the Commander of the Ebonyi State Police Anti-Kidnapping Squad, SP Chukwu Bruno Emeka.
Nnaji was arrested alongside his friends namely; Obiedelu Chigozle, Ezeah Izuchukwu and their in-laws Omagba Solomon on Saturday, December 3, 2022 at the GRA Trans Ekulu Enugu State in a commando style by the team of armed policemen led by Bruno.
The students were taken to Abakaliki, the Ebonyi Police Command headquarters, where they were illegally detained for ten days and tortured before they were forced to confess to a crime they never committed.
They were also forced to part with the sum of N5.5million from their bank accounts after which the police confiscated their cars.
SaharaReporters gathered that after their confession under duress, the students were charged to a Magistrate court for alleged fraud and hacking of the Facebook account and phone number of the wife of Vice Chancellor of Alex Ekwueme University, Dr. Chinyere Elom.
They were accused of using the Facebook account to scam unsuspecting relatives and friends by asking them to pay the sum of N600,000 for job slots.
The matter was then transferred to the Ebonyi State High Court where they were eventually admitted to bail on December 13, 2022, when the matter came up for hearing.
Investigation showed that the phone numbers and the bank accounts on the charge sheet used for the crime could not be traced or linked to the students as claimed by the police which compelled the police lawyer (prosecution) to ask for several adjournments.
But SaharaReporters gathered that few weeks after the court had granted them bail, a detachment of armed policemen invaded and ransacked Chidiebere's house on 4th February, 2023 located in Enugu on the order of Bruno without any search warrant.
It was learnt that the policemen gained access into the house through the ceiling after shooting sporadically into the air and carted away their properties such television, Jewelleries, laptop, handsets, generator, Ipad and DSTV decoder and many other.
He said the commander had openly threatened to kill them while they were in detention and after extorting money from them under duress.
He said few months after the assassination of his father who is also the Enugu State High Court Judge on 31 May, 2021, by unknown gunmen, they were forcefully evicted from their father's house located at GRA 1B, Constitution Road, Enugu, by armed policemen on the orders of Enugu State government which eventually took the possession.
Chidiebere explained that he has been receiving threat messages through his mobile phone from unknown people therefore making his entire family a target of attack.
According to him "On February the police invaded our house in the middle of the night and they carried all our properties including television, generator, jewelleries, decoder and stabiliser. They broke and entered the house through the ceiling because nobody was at home and they could not force the door open.
"They carted away all our properties and till now our cars and school documents are still with them and we can't travel back to our school in Cyprus.”
He called on the higher police authorities to prevail on Bruno and call him to order just as he asked Nigerians to hold him responsible in case anything untoward happened to him or any members of his family.
He said the commander had no right under the law to barge into his house and cart away his properties without any court order.
Meanwhile the students said the police are still holding on to their school documents thereby making it difficult for them to travel to Cyprus to continue with their education.
The case was adjourned to April 18, 2023 at the Ebonyi State high court.