Ugwuanyi further alleged that the officer told him that he should report directly to the office of the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of the State CID, and be prepared for detention upon arrival.
A man identified as Chijinkem Ugwuanyi has raised the alarm over what he described as a planned arrest and detention by operatives of the Enugu State Criminal Investigation Department (CID) without being informed of any offence.
Ugwuanyi, who made the allegation in a detailed Facebook post, said he received a phone call from a police officer who identified himself as CSP Kevin Achum (also known as Ogbuefi), an officer working at the Enugu State CID.
According to him, the officer informed him that he was supposed to be arrested on or before Monday and instructed him to report himself at the State CID, Enugu, by 10:00 am on Monday, January 26.
Narrating the incident, Ugwuanyi wrote that the caller confirmed his identity and then told him plainly that an arrest order had already been issued against him.
"Yesterday evening, a call from a police officer working at state #CID Enugu called me and introduced himself as CSP #Kevin_Achum (Ogbuefi),” he said.
"He said are you Chijinkem Ugwuanyi, I said yes. He said we are supposed to arrest you on or before Monday but kindly report yourself at state #CID Enugu by 10am on Monday 26th January."
Ugwuanyi further alleged that the officer told him that he should report directly to the office of the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of the State CID, and be prepared for detention upon arrival.
"He continued, that the Deputy Commissioner of Police state #CID is the office I will report myself and I should be prepared that I will be detained,” he stated.
When he asked the officer to disclose the offence he was alleged to have committed, Ugwuanyi said the request was bluntly refused.
According to him, the officer claimed he was merely acting on orders and could not provide any details.
“I asked him my offence, he refused telling me saying he is acting on orders given to him. I just replied him OK and hang (sic) the phone,” Ugwuanyi said.
Despite expressing deep concern over the situation, Ugwuanyi said he would still honour the invitation to demonstrate that he is not afraid and has nothing to hide.
He, however, described the process as troubling and indicative of intimidation by powerful interests.
“Normally, me I will not even go anywhere let those crooks in power use their vehicles and come and arrest me but to tell them am not afraid of anything, tomorrow by 10am I will just prepare myself with my #Detention bag and go to state #CID Enugu let them do their worst,” he wrote.
Ugwuanyi also warned that his possible detention could cut off communication with him, urging the public to take note of the office responsible should anything happen.
“In case from tomorrow you didn't hear from me again… Take Note. The office that will detain me from tomorrow is Deputy Commissioner State #CID Enugu,” he added.
He insisted that the situation should not cause panic, but hinted that his ordeal may be connected to wider political or civic agitation, noting that “the 3rd Force movement is moving very fast now.”
Reacting to the broader pattern of alleged police misconduct, former presidential candidate and human rights activist Omoyele Sowore has condemned the routine abuse of police powers under the current leadership of the Nigeria Police Force.
Sowore, speaking on Monday, accused the police under Inspector-General of Police Kayode Egbetokun, whom he described as “illegally appointed,” of allowing the institution to be weaponised against ordinary Nigerians.
“This is a terrible indictment of the Nigeria Police Force under the illegally appointed IGP, Kayode Egbetokun. The police have been reduced to pawns in the hands of every Tom, Dick, and Harry, deployed at will for illegal, unconscionable detentions of Nigerian citizens,” Sowore said.
He lamented that such actions had become routine, warning that the continued silence of citizens in the face of unlawful arrests amounted to an attack on the rule of law and collective dignity.
“This abuse of power has become routine, and it must stop. No one in this country should continue to watch in silence or accept the unlawful detention of citizens as normal. It is an assault on the rule of law and on our collective dignity,” he stated.
Sowore also warned that officers involved in alleged abuses would be monitored and held accountable if they failed to reverse their actions.
“We are monitoring the officers involved in these abuses, and they will be held to account for their misconduct if they do not immediately retrace their steps. Nigeria Police Force impunity will no longer be tolerated,” he added.