Kenechukwu Ofomah
Awka
A rights group, the Open Society on Justice Reform Project, OSJRP, has emphasized the need for the Nigeria Police Force to resist attempts to be turned into a tool for personal vendetta.
The OSJRP Executive Director, Samuel Akpologun gave the view in a chat with The News Chronicle Correspondent in Awka, in a reaction to the matter of one Joseph Edeh, who is entangled in a case with his estranged wife, and the undue involvement of the Police in the matter.
Our reporter gathered that the man, Edeh had issues with his wife, and the woman had filed for divorce in Lagos.
However, the man had attempted to remove her from his company, where he had made her a shareholder and director before.
It was gathered that the said wife had been using the police to harass him because she wants him to sell all his property including the company and share the proceeds equally with her.
Speaking with TSS correspondent on Sunday, Akpologun insisted that the Nigeria Police Force is not, and must never become an enforcer for private interests.
He, however, regretted that recent events suggest that some officers are increasingly willing to misuse their powers to intervene in personal disputes, in clear violation of the law and in defiance of court orders.
“The ongoing harassment of Mr. Joseph Edeh by officers of the Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID), Abuja, at the behest of his estranged wife, offers a disturbing example of this growing trend. Despite multiple pending court cases in Lagos, Abuja and Enugu, and a subsisting order of the Federal High Court directing all parties to maintain status quo ante, police officers continue to interfere in what is plainly a civil and matrimonial dispute.
“Civil disputes belong in the courts, not at the FCID.
“On 5 November 2025, the Open Society on Justice Reform Project (OSJRP) and the Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC) submitted a joint petition to the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), urging respect for the court order and the rule of law. Samuel Akpologun, the Director of OSJRP further engaged the Deputy Commissioner of Police handling the matter. Instead of de-escalating, the police dramatically escalated their actions.
“On 11 November 2025, officers under DCP Rita Emesime Oyintare wrote to several banks ordering them to freeze all accounts linked to Mr. Edeh, deactivate electronic channels, place Post No Debit restrictions, and most shockingly, arrest anyone found operating the accounts. Banks were instructed to hand such persons over to named FCID officers. This is unconstitutional, unlawful, and a gross misuse of police authority.
“To justify these actions, the officers relied on a questionable ex parte order obtained from a Nasarawa State High Court, a jurisdiction with no connection to the parties or the dispute. This is a classic case of forum shopping designed to circumvent the binding Federal High Court order.
“The consequences are severe: violation of court orders, abuse of police powers, interference with judicial proceedings, infringement of constitutional rights, and economic damage to a private citizen whose business accounts have been crippled without lawful basis,” he said.
Akpologun noted that what the police is being used to do in the matter is not policing, but persecution, adding that the Police Act 2020 is clear in its stipulation that officers must act lawfully, proportionately, and must not intervene in civil matters without a criminal element.
He called on the Police Service Commission and National Human Rights Commission to act decisively, and halt all police actions against Mr. Edeh, enforce compliance with the Federal High Court order, and investigate officers responsible for these abuses.
“Nigeria cannot afford a police force that can be hijacked for private vendettas. The IGP must demonstrate that the Nigeria Police Force serves the law, not the interests of individuals who seek to bend it for personal gain.
“The rule of law depends on it,” he concluded.
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