Alefia described how his personal space was violated as officers ransacked his room, leaving him feeling exposed and powerless.
What began as an ordinary day at home quickly turned into weeks of fear, uncertainty, and confinement for Friday James Alefia, a journalist and publisher of an online platform, Naija News Today.
The journalist has accused a lawmaker, Chinedu Ogah, who represents Ezza South/Ikwo Federal Constituency of Ebonyi State, of using the police to intimidate, harass, and punish him for doing his job, turning his life upside down in a matter of hours.
Alefia said his nightmare started without warning, leaving him feeling helpless and bewildered in his own home.
“On September 23, 2025, I was in my house when six police officers busted me. They tried to handcuff me and I asked them what the problem was. They told me they were police officers from the FCT Command and there was a petition against me. They said that I should come with them to answer the petition,” he recounted.
He stated that four of the six policemen who came to arrest him were fully armed. He also noted that prior the incident, the police had kept tracking him and monitoring his movements till they tracked him down to Lagos State.
According to him, during his arrest in Lagos, his pleas for due process fell on deaf ears, heightening his sense of injustice.
“I told them that they should have invited me, and that they can only come for an arrest if they invited me and I didn't come to the police station,” he said.
Alefia described how his personal space was violated as officers ransacked his room, leaving him feeling exposed and powerless.
“They scattered my room that day, collected my phone, my laptop, my passport and clothes,” he said.
He said the officers’ chilling remarks added a layer of fear he could not shake.
“When they were packing my clothes, they were telling me I wasn't coming back anytime soon,” he recalled.
He was first taken to Area F Command in Ikeja before being transferred to Abuja, each move amplifying his anxiety and uncertainty.
“That day, they moved me to Area F in Lagos, Ikeja command. I stayed at Area F for two days before I was moved to Abuja, the defunct SARS facility in Abuja. I spent six weeks in detention at the Abattoir,” he said, the weight of those six weeks still evident in his expression.
While in custody, Alefia said he struggled to understand why his freedom had been taken away, feeling betrayed by the same officers meant to protect him.
“When I asked what my crime was, they said the petition came from the Honourable member representing Ezza South Federal constituency, Chinedu Ogah and it was that I was bullying him and cyberstalking and they dug out some of the publications that they were using against me,” he said.
He insisted the reports cited were legitimate journalistic work, his voice carrying both indignation and determination.
“One was a publication involving a land grabbing issue, involving the honourable member, of which we did our own investigation, interviewed the victim,” he said, adding that another report involved a man who claimed his life was threatened.
“We decided to put call through honourable Ogah, let's know his own side of the story. He declined our call,” he said.
Alefia alleged that the pressure went beyond paperwork and court processes, a thought that left him anxious yet resolute.
“When I was in police detention, he came and started threatening me that he would make sure he sends me to police detention. He said a lot of things just to threaten my freedom,” he said.
Emotionally drained but defiant, Alefia said his detention was meant to break his spirit, yet it only strengthened his resolve.
“All this while Hon. Ogah has been trying to suppress press freedom in the state and I was not the only victim of his action,” he said, his determination shining through despite the ordeal.
He pointed to other individuals allegedly detained on similar charges and warned of a wider pattern of intimidation.
“But I stood on my practice of journalism of holding people to account,” James said. “If we do not speak up for the people who will speak for them.”
James was eventually granted bail by the Federal High Court on December 20, 2025, after weeks of detention, and his trial is scheduled to begin on January 27, 2026, marking a small but significant victory in a deeply trying time.
Journalist Raises Alarm Over Detentions Linked To Ogah
Alefia named several individuals reportedly languishing in correctional facilities over similar accusations of cyberstalking and cyberbullying, leaving families and communities in distress.
The list, which reflects a wider pattern of alleged targeting of critics and perceived opponents of the lawmaker, includes at least four persons from Ebonyi State, who are said to have been detained under instructions linked to Ogah.
Among them is Achor Chisom, currently held at the Enugu Correctional Centre, and reportedly from Amegu Ikwo Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.
According to him, also at the Enugu facility is Imeba Chinonso Uguru, likewise from Amegu Ikwo L.G.A., both facing an uncertain future far from home.
Another individual, Paul Chinagwor Nweke, is said to be detained at the Abakaliki Correctional Centre, also hailing from Amegu Ikwo L.G.A, Ebonyi State, while Mr. Kindness Jonah has reportedly been in detention since February 2025.
Arrested in Enugu, he was allegedly transferred first to Abuja before being moved to Keffi Maximum Prison in Nasarawa State, where he remains incarcerated, leaving his loved ones anxious and worried.
Background
In November 2025, the Nigeria Police Force arraigned Alefia before the Federal High Court in Abuja on a five-count charge bordering on false publication, conspiracy, and cyberstalking.
The publication was reportedly against Ogah.
According to Charge No. FHC/ABJ/CR/531/2025, filed by the Commissioner of Police, the defendants allegedly used social media, particularly Facebook, to publish a series of reports described as false and defamatory against the federal lawmaker in April 2025.
The charge sheet, sighted by SaharaReporters listed the alleged offending publications as including: “How Federal Lawmaker Ogah Snatches Village Land in Ebonyi”; “I Rigged Senatorial Poll Against Emmanuel Onwe”; “Ebonyi Rep Member Returns ₦4 Million Amidst Extortion Allegations”; and “Ebonyi Rep Member Threatens Constituent for Supporting Charity Foundation.”
The prosecution claimed the reports were “false, malicious and intended to injure the reputation” of the lawmaker, describing them as criminal violations of Sections 24(2)(a) and 27 of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc.) Amendment Act, 2024, and punishable under Section 24(2)(c)(i–ii) of the same Act.
When the matter came up before Justice Obiora Egwuatu of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on Wednesday, November 12, 2025, Alefia pleaded not guilty to all five counts.
The prosecutor, E. A. Inegbenoise, Esq., from the Police Legal Section, then requested a date for the commencement of trial.
However, when defence counsel, Israel Abida, informed the court that a bail application had been filed, Justice Egwuatu replied that no such application was found in the court’s file.
Abida attempted to appeal for a short adjournment, explaining that the defendant had been in detention for about two months and that the prosecution was not opposed to bail.
But Justice Egwuatu ruled that, since there was no evidence before the court, it could not proceed to consider bail.
The judge subsequently adjourned the case to January 27, 2026, for hearing, and ordered that the journalist be remanded at the Kuje Correctional Centre pending trial.