There is palpable fear that the 26-year-old whistleblower, Nnamdi Emeh who exposed the killings and organ harvesting ring among senior police officers in Anambra state may be killed as the police move him by road from Abuja to Anambra, Southeast Nigeria.
Emeh, a corps member with the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), has been in the detention facility of the Nigeria Police Force Headquarters in Abuja, after he was arrested in a joint operation by INTERPOL operatives in Benin Republic and Nigeria on Friday, March 3, 2023.
He was reportedly handed over to a team of four police officers led by SP Ayo, OC Homicide, State CID, Awka who arrived in Abuja on Saturday night.
Sources in the Force headquarters told SaharaReporters that Emeh was being moved by the said police officers. They expressed fear on Sunday that Emeh might be eliminated.
“They are currently travelling by road this morning, Sunday, April 2, 2023, to Anambra state,” one of the sources said.
“SP Ayo and SP Nwankeoby are the officers that went to take him on Saturday night.
“Please help him so that he does not die. The very moment he steps foot in Anambra, he is a dead man.”
The sources said the police in Anambra State are notorious for extrajudicial killings and that once Emeh enters the state, he might be killed with a poisonous substance to cover up the atrocious activities of the command.
SaharaReporters had exclusively reported that there was a plot to kill Emeh to cover up the atrocious activities of the police in Anambra State. There are several cases of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearance in the state and others in Southeast Nigeria.
Meanwhile, a Civil Society Coalition Against Impunity has also raised the alarm that Emeh might be killed on the road before he gets to Anambra.
The coalition confirmed that Emeh was handed over to a team of four police officers led by SP Ayo, Officer-in-Charge of Homicide, Anambra State Criminal Investigation Department, Awka, which arrived in Abuja on Saturday night.
It added that the team were taking Emeh to Anambra on Sunday.
A statement by the coalition reads, “There are serious concerns that Nnamdi Emeh may not arrive in Awka alive and may never have his day in court.
“On 25 March 2023, SaharaReporters, quoting a police source, exclusively reported that the police are planning to execute Nnamdi Emeh to prevent him from testifying in a law court.
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“Nnamdi Ameh has been detained incommunicado in the Police headquarters Abuja since Friday, March 3, 2023, after he was arrested in Benin Republic. He is the only child of his aged parents.”
“Please raise your voice to prevent the unlawful execution of Nnamdi Emeh,” the statement added.
A coalition of civil society organisations in Nigeria had also asked the Nigeria police to release 26-year-old corps member, Emeh.
Read More: Organ harvesting: Ekweremadu, wife, doctor to be sentenced May 5
SaharaReporters had reported that Emeh was declared wanted by the police on February 20, 2023, for allegedly impersonating an Assistant Superintendent of Police in Anambra.
He was later arrested in a joint operation by INTERPOL operatives in Benin Republic and Nigeria on Friday, March 3, 2023.
Emeh was arrested in connection with allegations of a case under investigation by the Force Headquarters in which top police officers in Anambra State Police Command were alleged to be involved in human organ trafficking, kidnapping and killing of suspects after extorting them.
According to the police, Emeh, an information technology (IT) expert while serving as a tracker in the Anambra State Police Command, started impersonating senior officers of the Nigeria Police Force in Anambra State including an Assistant Superintendent of Police.
However, the CSOs in a joint statement called on the police authorities to immediately drop the trumped-up charges of “unlawful possession of firearm, money laundering, defamation of character, fraud, and impersonation” levelled against the corps member.
The organisations include African Centre for Media & Information Literacy (AFRICMIL), HEDA Resource Centre, Accountability Lab, Progressive Impact Organisation for Community Development (PRIMORG), Social Development Integrated Centre (Social Action), Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID) and Sterling Centre for Law & Development Access To Justice.
