A rights group, the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety), has accused the Anambra State Government of engaging in indiscriminate arrest of residents.
It called on the Charles Soludo led-government administration to respect fundamental human rights of the citizens.
The group said those arrested and detained for criminal offenses (felonies or misdemeanors or simple offenses) should be charged to court or granted administrative bail within the constitutionally prescribed timeframes.
These demands were contained in a statement made available to journalists on Thursday, signed by Emeka Umeagbalasi, Lead-Researcher/Head Intersociety, Chinwe Umeche, Human Rights Lawyer/Head, Democracy and Good Governance, Chief Anayo Leonard Okoli, Member of the Board, Comrade Chibueze Nwajiaku, Deputy Head, Policing and Law Enforcement Department and Comrade Samuel Kamanyaoku, Head, Field Data Collection and Documentation Department.
It urged the state government “to desist from reckless resort to false labeling and hearsay conclusions and entertainment of frivolous or cooked up petitions, with which thousands of defenseless citizens have been arrested across the State and detained inhumanly without proper investigations and trials.
“Processes leading to invocation of power of arrest by various conventional and unconventional security establishments across the State must be investigative and fair-hearing driven.”;
Intersociety alleged that reports at its disposal indicted the government of “indiscriminate breaches of citizens’ constitutional liberties by coercive agents holding brief for the Professor Charles Chukwuma Soludo-led Government of Anambra State, brought to our advocacy attention by several victim-citizens and their relatives or close associates.”;
It claimed that “several citizens of the State indiscriminately are being labeled under controversial circumstances, hunted down and clamped into indefinite detention, ranging from three months to five months or more without trial or police administrative bail.
“There are also strong pieces of evidence showing that the State Security outfit (Agunaechemba/Udo Gachi) has led the way by arresting several citizens and detaining them extra jus, extralegal and extrajudicial using “Okite Ritualism”; or “being ritualists, kidnappers, armed robbers, internet fraudsters or herbalists providing charms to violent criminals”; as a pretext or cover.
“Chief Priests of the anciently instituted communal Deities including custodians of ancient Market Deities are among those framed or falsely labeled, arrested and detained without trial or threatened with arrest and detention under the above circumstances.”;
It said a 12-page letter had been addressed to the Anambra State Executive Council, through Professor Solo Chukwulobelu, Secretary to the Government of Anambra State.
It mentioned the ancient Udo Orie Market Deity and its chief priest as a reference point.
The organisation said ignorance and lack of tradition expertise had led into generalized criminalization or false labeling and stigmatization of such sacred institutions of antiquity as “deities providing charms for ritualists, armed robbers, kidnappers and internet fraudsters or those engaging in Okeite money rituals”;.
“These abuses and infractions are also found to have become reckless using management, enforcement and operationalization of the Anambra State Homeland Security Law 2025, also found to be lacking credible research and investigative techniques and statistics.
It claimed that about 99% of communally instituted deities and allied institutions in Igbo Land were incapable of being publicly harmful or causing harms to their owner-communities except in situations of violation of their codes or neglect and abandonment,”; adding that “evil use of deities including for violent crimes in the State is not largely traced to chief priests or custodians of such communally instituted deities but to some owners of private evil shrines including evil seers, evil herbalists, herbalists offering evil or satanic sacrifices and minutest number of falsely anointed chief priests engaging in evil spiritual intercessory and fortification, who constitute insignificant number across the State.”;
It called for the discharge and acquittal of one Chief Udoka Ejimu, who it said had been detained for 150 days “at the State CID Annex or Awkuzu Police SARS in Awkuzu, Oyi Local Government Area of Anambra State.”;
“In the event such a citizen is continued to be detained after two months without police administrative bail or proper court trial, the Section directs that he or she shall be released unconditionally including being discharged and acquitted.
“In other words, such a citizen can no longer be detained since he or she has no case to answer under any written criminal law in Nigeria or any part thereof including Anambra State of Nigeria.
“It is recalled that Chief Udoka Ejimu (AG Udoka) is an Enugu-born multimillionaire and successful old motor spare parts dealer in Onitsha and CEO of the Udoka Golden Point and Suites (Hotel) Limited, Oba in Idemmili South Local Government Area of Anambra State.
“His multi-storey hotel building was bulldozed around January 27, 2025 without proper and conclusive investigations by the Prof Charles Soludo-led Government of Anambra State.
“Chief Udoka Ejimu and his Hotel facility were bulldozed, after which the State Government claimed that it ‘demolished the Hotel following discovery of over 30 human graves at the top decking of the Hotel’.
“The Government of Anambra State further accused the Hotel CEO of using his hotel facilities for ritualism and kidnappings and harboring violent criminals including ritualists, kidnappers and armed robbers.
“It was later discovered following our investigations that the said ‘human graves’ were partitioned bricks used by the former owner of the Hotel for the hotel’s bar fishpond barbecue.”;
It urged the Anambra State Executive Council to send an Executive Bill to the State House of Assembly for detailed enactment into law of “Anambra State Antiquities and Communal Institutions, their Sanctuaries and Custodians Protection and Preservation Law 2025”;.
A similar call was made for the enactment of the “Anambra State Freedom of Religion or Worship or Belief and Igbo Ethnic Identity Protection Law 2025”;.
