Human rights groups are asking the police to release the detained man or charge him to court.
The police in Anambra State, south-east Nigeria, have made fresh accusations against Nnamdi Emeh, a member of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) arrested for allegedly committing various offences in the state.
The Commissioner of Police in the state, Echeng Echeng, disclosed this on Friday during a press conference in Awka, the state capital.
Background
PREMIUM TIMES reported that the police in the state had, in February, declared Mr Emeh wanted for unlawful possession of firearms and money laundering.
The 26-year-old corps member, who was undergoing his mandatory national service at the state police command, was also accused of fraud, impersonation and defamation of character.
The police did not provide details of when and how the corps member allegedly committed the offences.
Tochukwu Ikenga, the spokesperson of the police in the state, only said the corps member was “positively identified/mentioned” in an ongoing investigation by the police in Anambra State.
Mr Emeh was later arrested in Benin Republic, a French-speaking West African country, on 3 March.
The arrest of the corps member followed a joint operation by police operatives from Benin Republic and Nigeria.
His arrest after being declared wanted by the police came days after three high-ranking police officers serving in Anambra State were indicted for various criminal activities in the state.
A Nigerian news blog, Gistlover, had published a report accusing the officers of engaging in illegal arrest, torture, extortion and extra-judicial killings of their victims.
The blog, which reportedly gathered the information from Mr Emeh, claimed that the officers “illegally” arrested their victims, labelled them as “unknown gunmen” and then torture them to accept the labelling before killing them and taking possession of their vehicles and other valuables.
The Inspector-General of Police, Usman Alkali (IGP) would later order an investigation into the “weighty allegations” against the officers.
Fresh accusations
Mr Echeng, during the Friday press conference, confirmed that Mr Emeh was still in police custody.
In what appeared to be fresh accusations, the police commissioner said the corps member also hacked into a bank account of a man and transferred millions of naira to his (Emeh) different bank accounts.
“Nnamdi (Emeh) also hacked into one of Mr Chibuike Martins Ekwueme’s (bank) accounts and fraudulently transferred a total of N47 million to his 14 different (bank) accounts,” he said.
The police did not provide details about who Mr Ekwueme is and whether he is an officer.
“The case is already before the Federal High Court,” Mr Echeng added, without giving details.
Group demands his release
Meanwhile, the Civil Society Coalition Against Impunity had, in April, demanded the release of Mr Emeh.
The coalition, which comprises about 29 civil society organisations, asked the police authorities to immediately release the corps member or charge him to court, if he was found guilty of any crime.
The group had claimed that Mr Emeh, an information technology consultant to the police in the state, was arrested in Benin Republic because he acted as a “whistle blower” who revealed details of the offences allegedly committed by the three high-ranking officers accused of extortion and extra-judicial killings in the state.
It urged the police authorities to stop the alleged intimidation, harassment and attacks against Mr Emeh, his family and friends.
-Premiumtimes
