Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The last time Nnenna John-Anozie saw her husband, Chukwuemeka John Anozie, he was being dragged out of their home in Lekki, Lagos, at gunpoint. The men who took him were not armed robbers or bandits. They were police officers attached to the defunct Special Anti-Robbery Squad, Awkuzu, Anambra State. That was June 15, 2017. Nine years later, she still does not know if her husband is alive or dead. She does not know where he is. She does not know where his body is. All she knows is that the men who took him have been identified, investigated, and indicted—and they are still walking free.
"I have spent enormous financial, physical and emotional resources pursuing justice," Nnenna said in a statement issued on Sunday, September 14, 2026, marking the ninth anniversary of her husband's disappearance. "Nine years of inaction is no longer merely a delay. It raises serious concerns about whether the Nigeria Police Force has been shielding officers within its ranks and failing to uphold accountability." Her words carry the weight of a woman who has spent nearly a decade navigating a labyrinth of courtrooms, investigative panels, and government offices, only to be met with what she describes as a wall of institutional silence.
The facts of the case are not in dispute. According to court documents, police investigation reports, and the findings of the #EndSARS judicial panel, operatives of the former SARS unit in Awkuzu travelled to Lagos, stormed Anozie's residence, and abducted him. They carted away family documents, cash, and two vehicles. Four days later, his bank account was emptied. Nnenna was repeatedly denied access to her husband despite making several visits to the police facility. One of the officers, ASP Anthony Obiozor, allegedly demanded N5 million from the family. When they could not pay, they were prevented from seeing him again. The police later claimed, in one breath, that Anozie had died in custody. In another, they said they had no record of him. His body was never produced. His grave was never identified.
Two officers were identified as the principal suspects: ASP Anthony Obiozor Ikechukwu and Sergeant Ugochukwu Emeana. The case file containing the investigation report, witness statements, police wireless messages, and legal advice was compiled. A legal opinion was issued. Court orders were obtained. And yet, for nine years, nothing happened. The officers were not arrested. They were not prosecuted. They were not even disciplined. "Why can an officer accused of collecting ₦5,000 from a motorist face swift disciplinary action, while officers identified and indicted in connection with the disappearance of a citizen remain unarrested for nine years?" Nnenna asked. "Are some officers more protected than others?"
The turning point came in September 2025, when Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court in Abuja delivered a judgment ordering the Inspector-General of Police to release the case file to Nnenna, arrest the two principal suspects, hand them over to the Attorney-General of the Federation for prosecution, and pay N2 million in damages for violating her right to access information. The police ignored the judgment for ten months. Nnenna's lawyer, Vincent Adodo, filed contempt proceedings against the then-IGP, Kayode Egbetokun. In February 2026, Justice Nyako warned that she would not hesitate to order the Chief of Army Staff to arrest the IGP if the disobedience continued. "I have no difficulty granting the order to commit the IGP," she said. "I will ask the Chief of Army Staff to arrest him. I will not ask the police." The judge's remarks underscored a chilling reality: the police could not be trusted to arrest their own chief.
The breakthrough came in July 2026, when the new Inspector-General of Police, Tunji Disu, forwarded the original case file to the Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, in compliance with the court's order. The file included statements from the implicated officers, police wireless messages, and the legal advice recommending prosecution. Adodo commended the IGP for complying with that aspect of the judgment, but noted that other orders remained outstanding: the release of the certified true copy of the duplicate case file to Nnenna, the arrest of the two principal suspects, their handover to the AGF, and the payment of the N2 million damages. "We look forward to full compliance with the remaining orders," Adodo said.
For Nnenna, the forwarding of the case file is a step forward, but it is not justice. Justice would mean the arrest of the men who took her husband. Justice would mean a trial. Justice would mean knowing what happened to Chukwuemeka John Anozie. "He simply vanished," she said. "John is not a case file to me. He is my husband. He is a father. He is a human being." Nine years after that night in Lekki, she is still waiting for an answer to a question that no one in authority has been able to answer: Where is my husband's body?
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