A 28-year-old woman from Nigeria’s Enugu State has accused police officers attached to the Asaba Area Command in Delta State of assaulting, dehumanising and unlawfully detaining her for several days after a condom was found in her bag during a late-night stop in Asaba.
The woman, identified as Chinenye Nnaji, said officers seized her late on Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025, at Pinnacle Junction, where she had stopped to buy food while returning home. She said police operating from a marked Sienna vehicle descended on the area, rounding up young men and women without explanation and forcing them into custody.
A witness who said he saw the arrest described officers manhandling Nnaji and dragging her into a police vehicle before taking her to the Asaba Area Command. The witness, who requested anonymity for fear of reprisal, said the officers targeted her solely because a condom was discovered during a search of her belongings.
Nnaji said she was verbally abused, labeled a prostitute and criminal, and locked inside a private room at the command alongside other detainees. She said she was held there for three days without food or water and was subjected to physical abuse severe enough to leave her in degrading conditions.
“What happened to me was torture,” Nnaji said, speaking through tears. “My only offence was that they found a condom on me.”
She said the officers involved were led by a policeman identified to her as Chidi and alleged that senior officers at the command were aware of the detention. Nnaji further accused the Asaba Area Command of routinely carrying out nighttime arrests of young people and demanding large sums of money for their release.
A witness echoed those allegations, saying officers frequently detain people at random and demand bail payments ranging from 150,000 to 250,000 naira, often under threats of imprisonment. The witness alleged that victims are assaulted and intimidated as a means of extortion.
Attempts to obtain a response from the Asaba Area Commander, ACP Udeze Alex Mbanefo, were unsuccessful, as his phone line was unreachable. Calls and messages sent to Delta State Police Public Relations Officer SP Bright Edafe were not answered by the time of publication.
The allegations add to longstanding concerns raised by rights groups about arbitrary arrests, abuse and extortion by some police units in Nigeria, particularly during late-night patrols in urban areas.
SaharaReporters
