In a detailed petition dated 20 January 2026 and copied to the Police Service Commission (PSC), RULAAC accused the DPO, Mr. Ahmodu Mohammed, alongside Officer Francis Gukas, SP Aminat, and other unidentified officers, of unlawful arrest, prolonged detention and denial of access to counsel.
A leading civil society organisation, the Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC), has petitioned the Commissioner of Police, Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Command, over alleged “grave abuse of police powers” involving the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Garki Police Station, Abuja, and several officers under his command.
In a detailed petition dated 20 January 2026 and copied to the Police Service Commission (PSC), RULAAC accused the DPO, Mr. Ahmodu Mohammed, alongside Officer Francis Gukas, SP Aminat, and other unidentified officers, of unlawful arrest, prolonged detention and denial of access to counsel.
Other issues are; torture, sexual and gender-based abuse, extortion, illegal seizure of property, and collusion with a complainant against a woman identified as Hajiya Mrs. Ngozi Umunna Ishola.
In the petition signed by Comrade Okechukwu Nwanguma, RULAAC's Executive Director, the organization said the conduct of the officers amounted to “gross professional misconduct and multiple violations of the Constitution, statutory law, police regulations, and international human rights standards.”
According to the petition, Mrs. Ishola was arrested late on 10 December 2025 at about 11:50pm at her residence in Area 11, Garki, Abuja, and taken to Garki Police Station shortly after midnight.
“At the time of her arrest, she was on her menstrual cycle, unwell, and leaving behind two very young children aged four and two, both with special needs, without any arrangement for their care,” RULAAC stated.
The organisation alleged that she was arrested “before any formal complaint was lodged,” pressured to write a statement, and detained for “two nights and three days without access to legal counsel, family, food, water, or her prescribed medication.”
RULAAC described the arrest and detention as “arbitrary, punitive, degrading, and manifestly unlawful.”
The petition further revealed that the allegations against Mrs. Ishola stemmed from her refusal of sexual advances by the complainant, Mr. James Asika Onwordi.
“She was later informed that she was accused of blackmailing the complainant with a purported sex video after she allegedly rejected his sexual advances, including pressure to engage in a threesome,” the petition said.
Rather than investigate the complainant for sexual harassment and coercion, RULAAC alleged that police officers “immediately aligned themselves with him, treating the victim as guilty and weaponising the police process as a tool of intimidation and coercion.”
RULAAC accused the police of systematically denying the woman access to justice.
“Throughout her detention, she was denied access to her mobile phones and prevented from contacting a lawyer or any relative,” the petition stated.
It added that she was taken to court “without prior notice, without legal representation, and without being allowed to make any phone call.”
In what the organisation described as a “deliberate act of deception,” the victim’s lawyer was reportedly told she would be taken to Wuse Zone 2 Magistrate Court, but she was instead “secretly arraigned before Dutse Alhaji Magistrate Court 2,” far from the police station where she was detained.
Even when a lawyer eventually appeared in court, RULAAC said the Magistrate refused an oral bail application.
“The Magistrate insisted, rigidly and curiously, that only a written bail application would be entertained, notwithstanding the urgency of the circumstances,” the petition stated.
Mrs Ishola was remanded at Suleja Correctional Centre from 12 December 2025 and remained there until 19 January 2026, spending “over one month in detention.”
“During this period, her two young children aged 4 and 2 years respectively were left vulnerable and unattended for over one month and one week,” RULAAC said, warning of “severe emotional, social, and welfare consequences.”
The petition painted a disturbing picture of the woman’s treatment in custody.
RULAAC noted that she was detained with male suspects, verbally abused, insulted, intimidated, and humiliated, all “with the knowledge and acquiescence of the DPO.
More seriously, the organisation alleged extortion. “She was forcefully taken to a bank and pressured to withdraw money from her account,” the petition said.
“When she resisted and demanded to write her statement instead, she was returned to the cell as punishment.”
According to RULAAC, the DPO threatened her directly, telling her she must “produce the money or go to prison,” a threat the group said was “subsequently carried out.”
RULAAC also detailed what it described as “inhumane and degrading treatment” during the woman’s transfer to Suleja Correctional Centre.
“The police vehicle made two unauthorised stopovers,” the petition stated. At one stop, two officers reportedly left her for about two hours under armed guard, during which she was denied access to a toilet “despite repeated pleas,” forcing her to urinate on herself.
“She arrived at the correctional centre late at night, traumatised and physically distressed,” RULAAC said.
The organisation further accused the police of illegally seizing and retaining Mrs. Ishola’s mobile phones and power bank, even after she was granted bail.
“When she and her lawyer returned to retrieve these items, the DPO denied ever seizing them, even though IPOs had earlier acknowledged possession,” RULAAC stated.
The group raised alarm over possible digital intrusion, noting that the victim had received “multiple Google security alerts indicating repeated attempts to access her phone and accounts,” suggesting “unauthorised access, digital intrusion, and evidence tampering.”
RULAAC alleged systemic collusion between the police and the complainant. “Officers acted not as impartial law enforcement officers but as agents of the complainant,” the petition said, accusing them of allowing him to harass and insult the woman inside the police station and influence decisions on her detention and bail.
The organisation called on the Commissioner of Police, FCT Command, to immediately investigate the DPO and all officers involved, discipline those found culpable, and ensure the release of the victim’s seized devices.
“This case represents a grave abuse of police powers, custodial torture, gender-based oppression, and the weaponisation of law enforcement for private interests,” RULAAC warned.
“Failure to act decisively will further erode public confidence in the Nigeria Police Force and embolden powerful individuals to continue using the police to victimise citizens.”