The Divisional Police Officer of Oyigbo Division in Rivers State has been removed from his post after anti-police brutality activist Harrison Gwamnishu published a video accusing him of extortion and detaining a domestic violence survivor at her alleged abuser’s request. The Rivers State Commissioner of Police, Olugbenga Adepoju, ordered the removal of CSP Ugochukwu Ijeoma within hours of the video going viral.
The extortion allegation was the first charge. Gwamnishu alleged that Ijeoma collected N500,000 from a suspect following a raid, with the money transferred directly to the officer’s personal account. A screenshot of the debit alert was shown in the video. Under pressure after the footage began circulating, the DPO reportedly refunded the money. That refund, rather than resolving the matter, became additional evidence of the original wrongdoing.
The second allegation is the more serious one. Gwamnishu accused Ijeoma of arresting Mrs Njideka Okorieocha, a woman who had fled her home with her two children following what the activist described as sustained domestic violence by her husband. According to Gwamnishu, the woman had previously filed a complaint at the same Oyigbo Division against her husband. No action was taken against the husband. When she left the home, her husband approached the DPO, and the officer arrested her.
The charge brought against her was stealing her own children.
Nigeria’s Violence Against Persons Prohibition Act exists precisely to provide a legal framework for prosecuting domestic violence and protecting survivors. The VAPP law was not invoked against the husband. Instead, the officer used a custody dispute framing to criminalise a mother’s decision to leave an abusive situation with her children. Whether that reflects ignorance of the law, indifference to it, or a deliberate choice made after payment is what any serious investigation must establish.
The Rivers State Police Command confirmed Ijeoma’s removal in a statement signed by public relations officer Blessing Agabe, describing the action as a response to the allegations in the video. No details were provided about what happens next, whether a formal investigation has been opened, whether Ijeoma faces disciplinary proceedings, or what the status of Mrs Okorieocha’s case now is.
