Nine years after John Anozie allegedly disappeared following his abduction by police operatives, the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Tunji Disu, has forwarded the case file on the incident to the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Lateef Fagbemi, in line with a court order.
Judge Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court in Abuja had ordered the IGP, in a judgement delivered in September 2025, to release the case file to Nnenna Anozie, the wife of the missing businessman, Mr Anozie.
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However, the police authorities ignored the judgment for about 10 months.
Mrs Anozie, through her lawyer, Vincent Adodo, instituted contempt proceedings about two months after the judgement against the then-IGP, Kayode Egbetokun, for disobeying the court’s judgement.
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The latest development follows the last hearing on 13 July, when Judge Binta Nyako welcomed news that the long-missing case file had been found.
“At least something is happening,” the judge remarked after Mrs Anozie’s lawyer informed the court that the police had located the case file after months of search, but lamented that he did not know what was preventing the police from forwarding the file to the AGF.
Earlier on that day, before the lawyer informed the court of the development, Judge Nyako had said she was considering transferring the contempt proceedings to another judge because she had become “so involved” in the matter. However, with the police now forwarding the case file to the AGF, the judge may reconsider continuing with the case.
According to a statement issued on Friday by Mrs Anozie’s legal team, led by Mr Adodo, “the court drew the applicant’s lawyer’s attention to a Notice of Compliance filed by the IGP’s lawyer, Stanley Nwodo.
The statement disclosed that “the notice informed the court that the case file, which contains the investigation report and legal advice on Mr Anozie’s disappearance, had been forwarded to the AGF as ordered in the court’s judgment.”
Mr Adodo said the legal team looks forward to full compliance with the remaining orders contained in the judgment.
He noted that the outstanding orders include the release of the certified true copy of the duplicate case file to Mrs Anozie, the arrest of the two police officers identified as the principal suspects in her husband’s disappearance, their handover to the AGF for prosecution, and compliance with the court’s order directing the payment of N2 million damages awarded to Mrs Anozie for the violation of her right to access information.
What the police forwarded
The notice of compliance shared with PREMIUM TIMES shows that the IGP, through his lawyer, Mr Nwodo, filed the notice before the Federal High Court on 22 July.
“I hereby forward an acknowledgement of the forwarded case file to the Honourable Attorney General’s office by the Nigeria Police Force as requested by the order of the Court in the suit accordingly,” Mr Nwodo told the court in the filing.
The documents reviewed by PREMIUM TIMES show that the original case file forwarded to the AGF contains the police investigation report, extracts from the crime diary, minute sheets, the original petition filed by Mrs Anozie and several witness statements.
The file also includes statements obtained from the implicated police officers, police wireless messages, records of investigation activities, applications for bail, correspondence on the duplicate case file, legal advice and subsequent correspondence on the legal advice.
The documents further show that the original case file was first forwarded by the Commissioner of Police, X-Squad Section of the Force Criminal Investigation Department, Force Headquarters, Abuja, to the IGP on 8 June 2020 for prosecution. At the time, Mohammed Adamu was the IGP.
A letter dated 15 July and signed by CP Aremu Silas, Deputy Director (Administration), Directorate of Legal Services, stated that the case file has now been forwarded to the AGF “for your esteemed Office’s perusal, legal inputs and possible prosecution.”
The letter added that the action followed Form 48 (Notice to Show Cause why an order to commit the IGP to Prison/Correctional Centre should not be made), received from Federal High Court Abuja in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/865/2025.”
Court documents also show that the AGF’s office acknowledged receipt of the case file on 20 July, days before the police filed the Notice of Compliance before the Court.
Nine years of quest for justice
According to a detailed PREMIUM TIMES report, ‘Horror of Police Brutality: A Nigerian widow’s pain mirrors victims’ agonies,’ published in January, Mrs Anozie’s quest for justice spans nine years and reflects the struggle of many Nigerian families whose relatives disappeared after encounters with the police, years before the #EndSARS protests brought the issue to national attention.
The investigation traced how her husband, Mr Anozie, disappeared in June 2017 after operatives of the now-disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) allegedly travelled from Awkuzu, Anambra State, to arrest him at his home in Lagos.
The police later claimed Mr Anozie died in custody but failed to produce his body despite repeated court orders.
The officers implicated in the case are Anthony Obiozor Ikechukwu, an Assistant Superintendent of Police; Uzochukwu Emeana, a sergeant; John Eze, also known as T-Boy; Oriole; and Sunday Okpe, a Superintendent of Police. Some of them have since retired from the police.
Over the years, Mrs Anozie petitioned the police, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and the #EndSARS Judicial Panel of Inquiry.
She also secured judgements from different courts directing the police to produce her husband or his body and hold the officers implicated in his disappearance accountable, but the police ignored all the orders.
Her latest legal victory came on 24 September last year when Mrs Nyako, the Federal High Court judge, ordered the IGP to release the duplicate case file and investigation reports to her, arrest the officers identified as the principal suspects, hand them over to the AGF for prosecution and pay N2 million in damages for violating her right to information.
However, the police failed to comply with the judgment, prompting Mrs Anozie to commence contempt proceedings against the then IGP, Mr Egbetokun, in December 2025.
The contempt proceedings, however, moved slowly. At one stage, the judge warned that she could order the arrest of the then police chief if the judgment remained disobeyed.
The matter later stalled after Mr Egbetokun left office in February and was succeeded by Mr Disu, forcing the contempt proceedings to continue against the new IGP.
When the case returned to court on 13 July, Mrs Anozie’s lawyer informed the court that the missing case file had finally been found after months of search.
The Notice of Compliance marks the first documented step by the police towards implementing Justice Nyako’s September 2025 judgment.
Civil society groups protest, seek prosecution of indicted officers
Members of the Coalition of Civil Societies in Abuja, popularly known as Abuja Left, who protested outside the Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday, urged the AGF to prosecute the police officers implicated in the disappearance of Mr Anozie.
The protest was led by the coalition’s coordinator, Gerald Kachi, who said the police’s decision to forward the case file to the AGF should pave the way for the prosecution of the officers named in the investigation.
“Justice delayed for nine years is obviously justice denied, and we cannot accept that,” Mr Kachi protested.
“We are using this opportunity to call on the Attorney General of the Federation to do the needful and come to the aid of these citizens.
“We must get justice for Mr Chukwuemeka. Those involved should be prosecuted according to our laws.”
He also urged the police to fully comply with the Federal High Court’s judgment by arresting the indicted officers, releasing the investigation report to the family, returning the valuables allegedly taken from Mr Anozie and paying the compensation awarded by the court.
READ ALSO: The challenges before Tunji Disu, By Semiu Okanlawon
‘A test of Nigeria’s commitment to the rule of law’
Also on Friday, the Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC) said the case had become “a test of Nigeria’s commitment to the rule of law and its obligations to investigate enforced disappearances and prosecute those responsible for grave human rights violations.”
In a statement, the organisation’s Executive Director, Okechukwu Nwanguma, urged Mr Fagbemi, the AGF, to ensure “the swift prosecution of police officers indicted in the case.”
Recalling the circumstances surrounding Mr Anozie’s disappearance, Mr Nwanguma said his wife and her children had lived with uncertainty since her husband was allegedly abducted in 2017 and had continued to endure “unimaginable emotional trauma.”
He also acknowledged “the courage and resilience demonstrated by Nnenna, whose unwavering pursuit of justice has kept this case alive despite years of official delay and obstruction.”
RULAAC welcomed the IGP’s direction that the investigation file, legal advice and report on the man’s disappearance be forwarded to the AGF.
However, the organisation described the development as “an important, though long overdue, step” in a case that “has symbolised the tragedy of enforced disappearance, police impunity and prolonged denial of justice in Nigeria.”
Mr Nwanguma stressed that forwarding the investigation file was only one part of the court’s judgment.
He urged the AGF to promptly review the investigation report and legal advice submitted by the police, commence the prosecution of all officers indicted in the case, ensure that no suspect is shielded from accountability, and keep the family informed of the progress of the case.
He also called on the IGP to comply with the remaining orders of the court by releasing the Certified True Copy of the duplicate case file to Mrs Anozie, arresting and handing over the indicted officers to the AGF for prosecution, and paying the damages awarded by the court.
Mr Nwanguma said RULAAC would continue to monitor the case and work with Mrs Anozie, her legal team and other stakeholders until the matter reaches its lawful conclusion.
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