AWKA, Anambra State — A businessman based in Awka, Anambra State, Mr. Chibuike (pictured below), has cried out for justice after allegedly being abducted and extorted by members of a newly formed security outfit known as “Operation Udo Ga Achi”.
Narrating his traumatic experience, Mr. Chibuike said he was kidnapped, taken to a remote bush, and forced at gunpoint to transfer a total sum of ₦1.5 million to unknown accounts. The incident, according to him, began after a misunderstanding at a boutique in Awka.
“I had a small misunderstanding with the owner of a boutique,” Chibuike recounted. “Before I knew it, the boutique owner called operatives of Operation Udo Ga Achi. He falsely accused me of trying to steal a pair of jean shorts. He even claimed I was the one responsible for all the missing items in his shop.”
Chibuike said the security men arrived promptly and sided with the shop owner without proper investigation.
“They told me I must pay ₦420,000 for the missing clothes and ₦80,000 for the pair of jeans I had wanted to buy. They forced me to transfer the money right there.”
But the ordeal did not end there.
“After I transferred that money, they dragged me away in a vehicle and drove for over an hour deep into a forest. When we got to the bush, they ordered me to open my mobile banking app. When they saw I had ₦9 million in my account, they told me to transfer all of it to them,” he said, visibly shaken.
Mr. Chibuike told them he had a daily limit of ₦500,000, but they refused to listen.
“They kept trying different amounts until they finally succeeded in forcing me to transfer ₦500,000 at midnight. Then the next day, they forced another ₦500,000 from me — totaling ₦1 million, in addition to the ₦500,000 I paid earlier at the boutique.”
What followed was even more humiliating and dehumanizing.
“Before they released me, they forced me to record a video where I confessed to being a thief. They held a gun to my head and made me say I was sorry and would never steal again. That video is now circulating online, and people are calling me a criminal. But I want the world to know: I am not a thief. I was forced to say all that under duress.”
Mr. Chibuike said he knows the Moniepoint account name the money was transferred to and is pleading with relevant authorities to investigate.
“They told me if I report to anyone, they will find me and kill me. But I can’t keep quiet. I want justice. My life is in danger, and my reputation is already being destroyed.”