Nnamdi Daniel Emeh, a 26-year-old corps member and IT specialist who was arrested in 2023 over allegations of accusing a police officer at the Rapid Response Squad Annex, Akwuzu, formerly known as SARS Awkuzu, in Anambra State, of engaging in criminal activities, remains in incarceration despite meeting bail conditions.

Nnamdi was arrested in March 2023; he was arraigned and granted bail by a Federal High Court in May of that year. FIJ learned that he perfected the bail conditions in May 2024 but has yet to be released.

John Kanu Emeh, Nnamdi’s father, told FIJ that he was deployed by the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) to the Rapid Response Squad Annex, Akwuzu, for his mandatory one-year service scheme, where he served before his arrest.

“My son is an IT specialist who specialised in tracking high-profile criminals and served with a branch of the Anambra Police Command at Akwuzu before his arrest,” the father said.

FIJ learned that Nnamdi was arrested in relation to a blog post published by Gistlover, a popular blog, accusing Patrick Agbazue, an Anambra police officer, of extorting, abducting, killing people and harvesting their organs.

The blog post also accused Agbazue of depositing the dead bodies of his victims in New World Mortuary, Nteje, a private morgue situated in Anambra.

Patrick Agbazue was arrested by the Police Service Commission (PSC) after an investigation into allegations of misconduct, inhumane treatment, torture and illegal detention of citizens in Anambra. He was also transferred to Abuja. Some sources claim Agbazue regained his freedom two days after his arrest.

Usman Alkali Baba, Inspector-General of Police at the time, also constituted a panel to investigate the allegations against Agbazue. However, there has been no word from the panel since it was set up in February 2023.

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FIJ discovered the blog post had no byline, yet the police accused him of being the mastermind behind the popular blog.

“They wanted to kill him because he had divulged the atrocities going on in RRS Akwuzu. They started haunting him down to kill him, and when he noticed that they wanted to kill him, he started running for his life until he was arrested,” John told FIJ.

Nnamdi was declared wanted by the police for impersonating an Assistant Superintendent of Police in Anambra on February 3, 2023. In March that year, he was arrested.

Two months after his arrest, Nnamdi was arraigned in the Federal High Court in Awka, the capital of Anambra. The Nigerian Police Force filed 12 charges against him, including possession of firearms, money laundering, defamation of character, hacking into one Chibuike Martins Ekwueme’s bank account and transferring the sum of N47 million into another account.

His arrest and incarceration have garnered reactions and been condemned by civil society organisations (CSOs). In April 2023, a coalition of CSOs urged the police to release him. The Hum­an Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) also accused the police of attempting to cover up the criminal activities of Agbazue.

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While presiding over the case in 2023, Justice F.O. Riman admitted Nnamdi to bail in the sum of N50 million with two sureties in like sum, adding that the sureties had to have landed property within the jurisdiction and evidence of payment of three years of tax.

John told FIJ that the family had met the bail conditions, but every attempt to release him on bail had been blocked by the police.

“We have been trying to secure his freedom since then. The judge signed the release warrant for Nnamdi on May 15, 2024, but to our greatest shock, the police appeared on May 16 and filed an ex parte motion for a stay of execution of the released warrant,” said John.

“The lawyer is trying to resolve the impasse. This is just an example of how the police have been frustrating efforts to bail Nnamdi since May last year.”

He added that Nnamdi was transferred to Agusta Prison from Onitsha Prison on June 1 and put in solitary confinement.

“The charges against Nnamdi do not include murder, armed robbery, arson or terrorism, and that was why he was granted bail. The police should know that everyone is presumed innocent until proven guilty. The police should allow him to enjoy his bail,” his father said.

When FIJ contacted Anthony Ikenganyia, the Anambra Police Command PRO, he told FIJ he was constrained to comment.

“I am constrained to make a comment on this because the case is before the court,” he told FIJ.