Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
A woman, Doris Ojuederie, has approached the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja seeking an urgent intervention to stop the Nigeria Police Force from arresting, detaining, harassing, or intimidating her over a dispute arising from her planned marriage. The fundamental rights enforcement suit, filed alongside her fiancé, Ifeanyi Ezenwaogene, has exposed a troubling pattern of alleged police abuse linked to a bitter love triangle.
The couple has sued the Inspector-General of Police, the Nigeria Police Force, the Commissioner of Police for the FCT Command, the Police Service Commission, the Divisional Police Officer of Galadimawa Police Station, and three officers attached to the National Cybercrime Centre (NPF-NCCC). Also joined as a respondent is Mrs Fibiawari Jonathan, whom Ojuederie accused of allegedly using the police to harass her over the relationship.
According to court documents, the trouble began when Ojuederie introduced Fibiawari to her fiancé, only to later discover that Fibiawari had allegedly developed a romantic interest in him. After reporting the matter to Fibiawari's husband, Ojuederie claims she became the target of a campaign of intimidation.
On July 10, 2026, armed police officers accompanied by Fibiawari reportedly arrived at Ojuederie's residence in Jabi, Abuja, in an attempt to gain access to her apartment. The situation escalated on August 6, 2026, when officers attached to the National Cybercrime Centre arrested and detained Ojuederie at her residence. She alleged that her phones were seized for forensic examination, and officers pressured her to write a statement without her lawyer present. She also claimed she was compelled to apologise to Fibiawari before being released on bail following her lawyer's intervention.
Since her release, Ojuederie said police officers have continued to call her persistently, threatening another arrest, the seizure of her mobile phone and international passport, and restrictions on her international movement. "Since I left the station on the 6th of August, 2026, the Police through the 8th and 9th Respondents have been calling me persistently threatening to arrest, seize my phones, International Passport and detain me," she stated in her affidavit.
In a motion ex-parte filed through their counsel, Terkaa J. Aondo, SAN, the applicants are seeking interim orders restraining the police from arresting, detaining, threatening, intimidating, or otherwise interfering with their personal liberty, freedom of movement, and private life pending the determination of the substantive suit. They are also asking the court to restrain Fibiawari from procuring or instigating their arrest or detention.
Ojuederie told the court that the repeated police actions had left her "in constant fear" of another arrest and had affected her ability to move freely and live peacefully in her residence. She also claimed that her fiancé had been separately invited and harassed by the police over the same matter.
Their counsel argued that their fundamental rights under sections 34, 35, 41, and 46 of the 1999 Constitution were being threatened. Counsel submitted that an interim injunction was necessary to maintain the status quo and prevent the subject matter of the suit from being rendered nugatory.
The applicants maintained that the dispute was essentially civil and matrimonial in nature, not criminal, and urged the court to protect them from further arrest, detention, passport seizure, and restrictions on their freedom of movement. They acknowledged, however, that the proposed injunction would not prevent the police from investigating any genuine criminal offence disclosed by credible evidence or acting in accordance with due process.
The court has yet to rule on the motion, but the case has already drawn attention to the troubling ease with which personal disputes can be weaponised through law enforcement channels. As Ojuederie awaits the court's decision, her story serves as a cautionary tale about the intersection of love, jealousy, and the abuse of state power.
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