Some lawless policemen attached to the Asaba Area Command of the Delta State Police Command have allegedly brutalised and detained a 28-year-old woman from Enugu State in Asaba, SaharaReporters has learnt.
A source who witnessed the arrest of Miss Chinenye Nnaji, but appealed not to be named, lamented the cruel manner in which operatives of the Asaba Area Command allegedly dehumanised and manhandled her over the possession of a condom.
SaharaReporters reliably gathered that Miss Nnaji was arrested following the discovery of a condom in her bag.
According to the source, the incident occurred on Saturday, December 20, 2025, at about 11:00pm at Pinnacle Junction, Asaba, where the victim had stopped to eat food. She was reportedly dragged into a waiting police Sienna vehicle and taken to the Asaba Area Command alongside other women and boys arrested in the area.
The source alleged that random arrests and extortion had become a common practice among police officers attached to the command.
“This is how the police in Asaba, especially those from the Asaba Area Command, usually arrest innocent people at random—especially young girls and boys—and throw them into cells to extort money ranging from ₦150,000 to ₦250,000 for bail,” the source said.
“Disgracefully and shamefully, the Area Commander has always supported his men because he gets his own share from whatever money is collected from these innocent suspects.”
The source further alleged that victims are routinely brutalised, assaulted, and threatened with prison terms as a means of extortion.
“What the police did to this young lady, Miss Nnaji, is despicable. She was tortured to the point that she defecated on herself. They kept her locked up in a private room with other randomly arrested suspects. Miss Nnaji spent three days in that room without food or water. The incident was extremely dehumanising,” the source lamented.
Narrating her ordeal to SaharaReporters in tears, Miss Nnaji said the officers who tortured her were led by a policeman identified simply as Chidi.
She stated that her only offence was a condom allegedly found in her possession.
“My name is Chinenye Nnaji. I am from Enugu State but based in Asaba, Delta State, and I sell ladies’ hair for a living. On that fateful Saturday, December 20, 2025, I went out for my normal business and was returning home at about 11pm. I stopped at Pinnacle Junction to get food when a marked Sienna vehicle with ‘ACPOL’ written on it arrived, chasing and arresting innocent people at random,” she said.
“As I was eating, the police came to my table, held me, searched me, and found a condom on me. They immediately started insulting me and calling me all sorts of names. Along with other boys and girls arrested, we were taken to the Asaba Area Command. Myself and two other girls were dumped in a private room, locked up, and left without food or water.”
Miss Nnaji accused the police at the Asaba Area Command, allegedly acting with the full knowledge of the Area Commander, of extorting money from innocent Nigerians who have committed no offence known to law.
“The Asaba Area Command is a den of corruption. They lie a lot and are notoriously known for random night raids on innocent girls and boys on the streets of Asaba. Let the Area Commander and his men be investigated,” she said.
Efforts to reach the Area Commander, ACP Udeze Alex Mbanefo, for comments were unsuccessful, as his mobile line was unavailable at the time of filing this report. Calls and messages to the Delta State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Bright Edafe, were not responded to as of press time.
