Saturday, April 12, 2025, remains a day to dread for Mrs Chioma Chikadibia of Alaukwu village in Osisioma Ngwa Local Government Area of Abia State, as she recounts her unsavoury experience and that of her husband and three daughters in the hands of police operatives attached to the MOPOL Base Umuahia.
On that day, Mrs Chikadibia witnessed what she described as the ‘arrest and kidnap’ of her husband, Mr. Chikadibia Sunday, and their three daughters, namely, Miss Sunday Glory, Miss Chikadibia Ngozi Goodness, and Miss Chikadibia Ogechi Gift.
Narrating the ordeal which she said happened at their family compound at Alaukwu village, the distraught woman, who revealed that she has been sick, said the police men did not disclose their identity or the reason for their actions.
Mrs. Chikadibia said the police men, about five in number, came in 2 vehicles: a white Hilux and a Sienna, heavily armed.
According to her, during the Gestapo-like operation, the invading operatives took away household properties as well as some money from her husband, Mr Chikadibia.
In the words of one of the daughters, ‘The police operatives, who were not in uniform, went to Glory’s room and searched. They broke the door of Ikenna’s room, collected all the properties inside his room, and some money. They came to my Dad’s room, collected his money and some properties, before they went to the lobby and carried our big generator, my sister’s new duvet, shovel, and two cutlasses.
‘They mocked my mother that she has not starting to cry and that this is the beginning.”
On how one of the daughters, Ngozi Chikadibia, was arrested, her neighbor at her shop revealed that someone called Ngozi through an unknown number and asked her to come and carry some goods. That was how she was kidnapped. Likewise, Sunday Glory, their shops remain open even now.
“Also, Gift Chikadibia, a final year student at the Institute of Management and Technology, Enugu, who returned home for Easter holiday, was also arrested and they have all been dumped and abandoned in detention for three weeks as of this date,” the neighbour said.
According to Mrs Chikadibia, the men who were later identified to be police officers from the Anti−kidnapping Unit, MOPOL Base Umuahia, did not reveal the reason for the arrest of her husband and her three daughters and their continued detention incommunicado till date at the ‘MOPOL Base’.
She said that the family had gone to the base in their desperate efforts to see their detained members, but were not granted access to see them or hear from them.
“We went to see them with a Barrister, but they said they were not there.
“However, a reliable source confirmed to us that they are there, allegedly ‘dumped one side’ and being ‘maltreated’ inside the base,” she said.
Mrs Chikadibia lamented that she does not know how her husband and three daughters were faring and feeding, noting that she is seriously concerned about their physical well-being and psychological integrity.
Reacting to the development, the Executive Director of the Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre, RULAAC, Okechukwu Nwanguma, said they are alarmed at the information, which reveals a gross abuse of police power, abuse of due process, and established procedures for arrest, detention, and treatment of persons arrested and detained for any alleged offense.
He maintained that it represents a gross violation of the fundamental human rights of the persons affected.
“RULAAC calls on police authorities at both the Abia State Police Command and the Force Headquarters to urgently intervene and ensure prompt and impartial investigation, ensuring accountability and redress,” Nwanguma said.
