Peter Okwuokei has accused officers of the Anti-Kidnapping Unit at the headquarters of the Delta State Police Command in Asaba of extortion, unlawful detention, and medical neglect, following a dispute with his girlfriend that he says was exploited for financial gain, a position disputed by the country’s first line of internal security.
He said this began during a hotel stay when a disagreement over his girlfriend’s plan to leave earlier than agreed turned physical.
“She pushed me, and my head hit the bed frame,” Okwuokei said, adding: “In anger, I struck her on the face.”
The hotel manager intervened and facilitated a private settlement, declining to involve the police. Okwuokei said he drove her home and called the following day to apologise, which she accepted. They agreed to meet at 4pm, but she did not appear.
When he called again that evening, a friend of hers answered and demanded ₦200,000 for medical treatment. The demand soon escalated to a threat to publish his nude photographs unless he paid.
Okwuokei said he sent photographs of her to her own WhatsApp account privately to signal that he held similar materials, but did not share them with any third party. The following day, the two agreed to meet at Summit Junction near Rodina Fast Food Restaurant in Asaba. It was a trap.
He said: When I arrived, I found she had come with police officers. They arrested me immediately and detained me overnight.”
While detained, Okwuokei suffered a severe asthma attack. He said fellow detainees had to bang on the cell door and shout repeatedly before anyone responded. His Investigating Police Officer, Inspector Sunday Bisong Odu, eventually arrived and provided an inhaler.
Once his condition stabilised, he was told he could be released at a price. “They first demanded ₦1.5 million,” he alleged. “They later accepted ₦500,000.”
After payment, he was released, but his vehicle and two mobile phones were retained, with officers citing the need to extract video evidence. He alleges the items were not returned even after the extraction was reportedly completed.
When police asked both parties whether to proceed to court or settle, Okwuokei said he chose settlement. His girlfriend then demanded ₦10 million. He countered with ₦300,000. A week later, her figure had dropped to ₦3 million; he raised his offer to ₦500,000. She refused.
His efforts to recover his vehicle ran into further obstacles. Officers told him he needed a male guarantor who owned property in Asaba. His sister, a property owner in the city, was rejected on the grounds of her gender. A male property owner, whom he subsequently produced, was also turned away.
When a second sister, M. Cordelia, called to speak with the Officer-in-Charge, Okwuokei says the conversation backfired. “The OC became angry and tried to detain me again. My phone was taken and kept until the next day. My family had no way to reach me.”
His health subsequently deteriorated. Doctors told him his blood pressure had reached approximately 240 and that he was at serious risk of death if it was not managed. From his hospital bed, he received word through a nephew that his girlfriend was demanding ₦1 million for him to come to the station to settle the matter.
“I am in the hospital. I cannot go,” he said.
Okwuokei says he accepts responsibility for striking his girlfriend but maintains that what followed has been disproportionate and corrupt. “All I have ever wanted is a peaceful resolution,” he said. “I want justice, I want my rights protected, and I want this matter settled fairly.”
The Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC) has since petitioned the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Olukayode Egbetokun, calling for an independent investigation into the conduct of the officers involved. In a petition in June 2026, signed by its Executive Director, Okechukwu Nwanguma, RULAAC alleged unlawful detention, extortion, abuse of the bail process, improper retention of personal property, and broader human rights violations by the Anti-Kidnapping Unit of the Delta State Police Command.
The group noted that it had written to Inspector Odu on June 4, 2026 requesting clarification and copied the Delta State Police Public Relations Officer. Twenty-four hours after delivery, no acknowledgement or response had been received.
RULAAC argued that if the allegations were established, the officers’ actions would have violated the Nigerian Constitution; Police Act, 2020; Administration of Criminal Justice framework; and Force Order on Bail, which states that bail is free.
The organisation expressed concern that the case reflected a shift from legitimate criminal investigation to what it described as “coercive mediation and financial bargaining between private parties, allegedly facilitated by police authority”.
It urged the Inspector-General to order an immediate investigation, determine whether money was demanded or received in connection with bail, review the legal basis for retaining the complainant’s vehicle and phones, and pursue disciplinary or criminal action against any officers found culpable.
The Delta State Police Public Relations Officer, Edafe Bright, rejected the allegations, saying Okwuokei was “lying through his teeth to whip up sentiment”. He disclosed that Okwuokei had posted a nude video of his girlfriend online and noted that a group of women’s activists had visited the Delta State Commissioner of Police over the matter.
Edafe said it was disturbing that Okwuokei had shown no remorse. On the extortion allegation, he challenged the complainant to produce evidence. “If he does,” Edafe said, “the money will be recovered and returned to him.”
Inspector Sunday Bisong Odu and the Anti-Kidnapping Unit had not responded to separate requests for comment at the time of this publication. The girlfriend, whose identity has been withheld, could not be independently reached.
More details here...
