Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The family of a 45‑year‑old man, Ifeanyi Ugwu, is crying out for justice after he died in the custody of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in Enugu State, following what relatives describe as severe beatings that led to internal injuries and a slow, agonising death. The agency, according to the family, has stonewalled all attempts to conduct an independent autopsy.
Ugwu was arrested on 20 April 2026 in the Ogbute community during a market raid and accused of possessing 1 kg of cannabis sativa. Under the NDLEA Act, such an offence should have resulted in a prompt court charge. Instead, SaharaReporters gathered that Ugwu was never taken to court. “He was arrested by men of the NDLEA in Enugu, and after beating him, they threw him inside the cell until he began to vomit blood,” a relative told the online newspaper. Another family source added: “They beat him seriously and injured his heart, then threw him in a cell until he began to vomit blood. That’s when they started taking him from hospital to hospital until he slumped and died.”
The family says it was kept in the dark about the arrest for weeks. “They kept him at their station for months without letting the family know,” a relative said. It was only after Ugwu’s death that the agency began searching for his relatives. The family claims they learned of his fate only after going to the 82 Division in Enugu. “They lied to us, saying he had tuberculosis and was coughing up blood,” a source told SaharaReporters. “He wasn’t alive to tell his own side of the story. They beat him badly. If you look at the pictures of his corpse, you can see how much they beat him.”
Worse still, every effort by the family to secure an independent autopsy has been blocked by the NDLEA, which allegedly insists on resolving the matter through internal channels. The family says they have been shut out of the investigation and denied the basic forensic evidence needed to hold anyone accountable.
The NDLEA Enugu State Commander, Owoputi Adekunle, did not respond to calls or text messages when contacted for comment. At least 10 Nigerians have reportedly died in the custody of security agencies in 2026, and a review of media reports suggests that many of those deaths occurred after the victims were allegedly tortured.
Human rights organisations have already called for a full inquiry, noting that the NDLEA Act provides for the prosecution of drug offences, not the summary punishment of suspects. The family has vowed to pursue the case, demanding an independent post‑mortem and the prosecution of all officers involved.
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