Residents of Oduah Estate in Abuja say they are living in fear after accusing a serving police officer, identified as DSP Jeffery Ugochukwu, of sustained harassment, death threats, and violent intimidation.
The tenants have petitioned the Police Service Commission (PSC) and other security authorities, alleging that repeated complaints to the police have gone unanswered.
In multiple “Save Our Souls” petitions addressed to the Inspector-General of Police, the Force Provost Marshal, and the Karu Area Command, the residents claimed the officer has “leveraged his position to act with impunity,” putting the lives of families including children, nursing mothers, and a pregnant woman at risk.
“We are appealing for urgent intervention before this escalates into tragedy,” the petitions stated.
According to the residents and a human rights group, Citizens Rights and Empowerment Advocacy Initiative (CREMA), the situation has been escalating since mid-2025.
In a petition dated August 13, 2025, CREMA described DSP Ugochukwu as “a threat to the lives of his co-tenants, who lives above the law simply because he is a police officer.”
Tenants allege the officer has on several occasions brandished a service pistol, physically assaulted neighbours, destroyed property, and threatened to open fire on residents. In one incident, he was quoted as saying, “Very soon I will get my rifle and fire everybody.”
The harassment allegedly intensified when, according to one petition, he began spraying a “tear-gas-like substance” through the ceiling, causing choking, breathing difficulties, and eye irritation. Families, including children and vulnerable persons, were forced to flee their rooms at night.
Residents further accused the officer of playing loud music late into the night, vandalising estate infrastructure including power and water lines and pouring substances on shared walkways. AEDC reportedly disconnected his flat in June, after which he allegedly cut off power to nine other apartments.
The situation reached a new level on Thursday, October 16, when residents claimed the officer, armed with a jackknife, went from door to door in search of journalist Comrade James Ezema, National Vice President (Investigation) of the Nigerian Guild of Investigative Journalists (NGIJ) and President of the Association of Bloggers and Journalists Against Fake News (ABJFN).
Ezema, who is also Director of Operations at CREMA Initiative, said he was shocked by the incident.
“Nigerians should hold DSP Jeffery Ugochukwu and the Nigeria Police Force responsible if anything happens to me, my loved ones, or any tenant,” Ezema said in a statement.
“I don’t want to be another Mohbad who petitioned the police with no action taken.”
The journalist claimed the officer also vandalised his electricity meter the same night.
Residents say despite numerous reports to the Nyanya Police Division, Karu Area Command, and the Force Provost Department, no meaningful action has been taken. They allege that when surveillance officers attempted to invite the officer for questioning on September 13, he “refused to open his door.”
Their lawyers, Trio Jurist Law Firm, have petitioned the PSC, accusing the police of shielding one of their own.
“It is now obvious that the Nigeria Police Force, knowing the state of DSP Ugochukwu, is intentionally protecting one of theirs at the risk of lives,” the petition read.
Tenants have also expressed frustration with the Police Complaint Response Unit (CRU), which allegedly told them the officer “could not be traced.”
On October 18, 2025, Ezema wrote an urgent appeal to the Force Public Relations Officer, ACP Benjamin Hundeyin, copied to FCT PPRO SP Josephine Adeh. He requested the officer’s immediate removal from the estate, security protection for residents, and an impartial investigation.
“This is not to impede legitimate policing but to prevent an avoidable tragedy,” Ezema wrote.
SP Josephine Adeh reportedly responded after receiving video evidence, noting: “Noted. I have even started acting on it too.”
Residents have now been invited to the FCT Police Command’s Complaint Response Unit for a meeting scheduled for Monday, October 20, 2025, at 10:00 a.m.
For now, life inside Oduah Estate, as noticed by WorldClass247News, remains tense. Residents say they sleep in shifts and keep watch over their families at night. Some families have already relocated.
“All we are asking for is safety,” a tenant said. “We just want to live without fear in our own homes.”
The PSC has yet to issue a public statement, but the tenants insist their only demand is swift, impartial action to prevent what they fear could end in violence.