RULAAC rues police’s silence on allegation of organ harvesting against Anambra operatives by whistleblower

By Kenechukwu Ofomah

Two years after a whistleblower, Nnamdi Emeh, a 26-year-old NYSC member and IT consultant to the Anambra State Rapid Response Squad (RRS), made startling revelations against some police operatives in Anambra, the police operatives are still walking freely.

The police have also maintained a conspicuous silence on the matter, while the whistleblower remains in detention.

Emeh, who worked closely with the police squad, had exposed grave allegations of extrajudicial killings, organ harvesting, and extortion allegedly perpetrated by senior police officers in Anambra.

Despite an order by a Federal High Court for his release, Emeh is still behind bars, while the accused officers walk free.

Recall that the Nigeria Police Force, under public pressure in 2023, constituted a panel to investigate the horrifying allegations.

Yet, despite promising to make the findings public, the police have reneged.

Reacting to the development in a chat with correspondent Kenechukwu Ofomah, the Executive Director, Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre, RULAAC, Okechukwu Nwanguma, queried why the police report had remained secret two years after submission, insisting that if the investigation was indeed thorough and honest, the public deserves to know the truth.

According to him, silence in the matter by the police may be read as complicity.

Nwanguma, however, regretted that it is not just the police obstructing justice, revealing that the Deputy Court Registrar of the Federal High Court, Awka, has been alleged to be playing an active role in frustrating Emeh’s release.

“Sources say he has acted as a willing tool in the hands of the police, undermining the court’s own order and betraying the very institution he serves. This should not be swept under the carpet.

“The National Judicial Council (NJC) must be activated to investigate and discipline any judicial officer found to be collaborating with law enforcement to pervert justice.

“Judicial officers are not above the law; they are meant to uphold it,” he noted.

The RULAAC boss called on the National Judicial Commission, NJC, the civil society, the media, the legislature, and international partners to pull all relevant levers of accountability, regretting that the Nigerian public has watched institutional rot spread unchecked because the right buttons weren’t pushed.

“While the police pretend to investigate, whistleblowers like Nnamdi Emeh are punished. Even after being declared wanted and arrested on vague allegations, he was held without trial for weeks and has yet to receive fair judicial treatment.

“The same officers he accused have neither been suspended nor charged. The investigation panel submitted its report long ago, yet the outcome is hidden from the public. Instead, the whistleblower is the one paying the price for daring to expose a death squad operating under state cover.

“This is not merely an internal disciplinary matter for the Nigerian Police. It is a test case for the Nigerian justice system, civil society, and democratic accountability.

“The demand is simple: release Nnamdi Emeh as ordered by the court. Prosecute the officers if they are found culpable. Publish the investigation report. And discipline any judicial officer aiding in obstructing justice.

“The Nigerian Police cannot continue to operate as a state within a state. The culture of extrajudicial executions, organ harvesting, illegal detention, and extortion, enabled by silence from above, must end.

“The police authorities know these things happen. They’ve received dozens of petitions. They simply benefit from the rot and therefore do nothing.

“But we will not be silent,” he concluded.