Police Command refutes viral claims of releasing political suspects, clarifying that Ani Samuel Chidi was remanded for unsubstantiated drug and shooting allegations while Zone 13 continues separate investigation into Obuoffia violence.
ENUGU, Nigeria — The Enugu State Police Command has dismissed reports alleging that it arrested and remanded a citizen, Ani Samuel Chidi, for filming the violent attack on a Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) ward meeting in Obuoffia-Awkunanaw, clarifying that the suspect was remanded in correctional custody for cyberbullying, defamation, and threatening violence.
In an official statement issued on Thursday, October 8, 2026, Police Public Relations Officer SP Daniel Ndukwe described reports suggesting that the command released an alleged political hitman while detaining Chidi as false, misleading, and a deliberate attempt to distort facts and discredit law enforcement.
Ndukwe explained that on September 12, 2026, the Ozalla Police Division received a formal complaint from Ani Nnabuike, Aninwene Monday, and others alleging cyberbullying and threatening violence against Chidi following his recording and online publication of the Obuoffia political disruption. Subsequent investigation by the State Criminal Investigation Department (State CID) established that Chidi went beyond recording the incident by circulating additional videos falsely accusing the complainants, former House of Representatives member Hon. Uchenna Sunday A. Igwesi (USA Igwesi), and Solomon Ifeanyi Nwobodo of masterminding the shooting.
According to the police spokesperson, Chidi further alleged in the widely circulated videos that Igwesi was a drug dealer who sent attackers to shoot and kill his own people in Obuoffia and had kept the community under siege. When subjected to police interrogation at the State CID, the suspect failed to provide evidence or substantiate any of the criminal claims made in his broadcasts. He was subsequently arraigned before an Enugu State Magistrate Court on charges of cyberbullying and threatening violence, where the court ordered his remand in a correctional facility pending trial.
The police command emphasized that the criminal case against Chidi is entirely distinct from the ongoing probe into the physical assault and shooting at the NDC ward meeting. “For the avoidance of doubt, the case concerning the alleged attack and disruption of the NDC party meeting is separate from the cybercrime case against Ani Samuel Chidi and remains under investigation at Zone 13 Headquarters, Ukpo-Dunukofia, Anambra State,” Ndukwe stated, urging the public to disregard claims that the police arrested Chidi merely for filming or released an alleged attacker in exchange.
Reiterating the command’s neutrality ahead of upcoming electoral activities, Enugu State Commissioner of Police, CP Mamman Bitrus Giwa, reaffirmed his commitment to ensuring a level playing field for all political parties and actors across the state. CP Giwa urged political stakeholders and residents to maintain peace and channel security grievances through established legal channels rather than resorting to media misrepresentations or engaging in acts that constitute cybercrime.
