CSO Demands Immediate Release of 150 Alleged Detainees Held by Udo Ga Achi Security Outfit in Anambra

 

The Anambra State Government has come under scrutiny following allegations that over 150 individuals are being unlawfully detained by a local security outfit, Udo Ga Achi. The Congress of Civil Society, Anambra State chapter, issued a stern seven-day ultimatum on Wednesday, urging the state to release the detainees or risk facing legal action.

Chairman of the state chapter of the Congress of Civil Society, Comrade Damian Ogudike, who addressed the press, decried the prolonged detention of suspects without trial. According to him, these actions not only undermine the rule of law but amount to a blatant abuse of human dignity and constitutional rights. He demanded that the individuals held in what he described as "illegal detention camps" be either freed or formally handed over to the Nigerian Police within the one-week deadline.

The organization’s petition, titled "Operation of illegal detention camp set up by Udo Ga Achi", was addressed directly to Governor Chukwuma Soludo. It also copied the state’s Commissioner of Police, the Director of the Department of State Services (DSS), the Attorney General, and the Commissioner for Justice. The CSO stressed that the situation, if left unchecked, could damage public trust in the state’s security framework and governance.

Ogudike noted that while the Udo Ga Achi security outfit has indeed played a role in curbing crime in the state, its current operations have veered dangerously off the legal path. “It has no doubt helped to control crime wave in the state to a reasonable extent, but they are going against the provisions of the law establishing them and the supreme law of the land, the 1999 Constitution as amended, to such a grave extent that can no longer be tolerated,” he said.

Emerging reports, including widely circulated viral videos, suggest that the outfit maintains detention facilities across multiple locations in the state, including a significant site in Awka, the state capital. The CSO alleges that some individuals have been in custody since January 2025, without access to legal counsel or formal judicial processes.

Public outrage has grown in response to these revelations, as activists and legal experts alike question the legality of such detentions. The CSO’s position is firm: the state has no business turning a blind eye to acts that constitute unlawful imprisonment under Nigerian law. Ogudike emphasized that the civil society community is prepared to initiate court proceedings should the government fail to act promptly.

“The security outfit runs a detention camp where it is alleged in viral videos that they have up to 150 detainees in the camp maintained at Awka and others outside Awka, where some have been detained since January 2025 till date,” the petition reads.

Furthermore, the CSO raised concerns about the mandate of Udo Ga Achi. According to them, it remains unclear whether the security group was ever granted authority to detain individuals, let alone operate what effectively amounts to a parallel prison system. “We doubt if the law setting up the security outfit empowers it to set up a detention camp and also empower her to detain individuals at all, let alone up to five months in her camp without handing over to the police,” the group said.

By calling on the Governor as the Chief Security Officer of the state, the CSO expressed hope that swift and corrective measures would be taken. The group also pledged to make the incriminating video footage available to the state authorities to bolster their claims.

Observers say the unfolding controversy is a critical test of Governor Soludo’s commitment to civil liberties and constitutional order. As a former central banker who now oversees the state's affairs, how he responds to this allegation could either enhance or erode public confidence in his administration’s adherence to democratic norms.

Human rights advocates and legal practitioners are expected to watch closely over the next seven days. The CSO's legal threat signals that civil society in Anambra is not willing to remain silent in the face of what it considers institutionalized injustice.

The demand now resonates beyond the immediate issue of detention—it raises fundamental questions about the accountability of non-state security actors, the transparency of governance in the state, and the protection of basic human freedoms in Nigeria’s democratic space.