Harassment: Enugu bank drags police to court

The Ohha Microfinance Bank Limited in Enugu and the President of the Civil Rights Realisation and Advancement Network, Olu Omotayo, have approached a Federal High Court in the state over alleged police harassment linked to petitions they wrote to the Chief Justice of Nigeria and the Enugu State Judicial Service Commission.

The applicants, alongside the bank’s Managing Director, Philip Onwukwe, filed the suit against the Nigeria Police Force, the Inspector-General of Police, the Commissioner of Police in Enugu State and four others.

The suit, marked FHC/EN/CS/131/2026, followed a police invitation over allegations bordering on defamation of character and conduct likely to cause breach of peace.

According to a statement issued on Thursday by Omotayo on behalf of CRRAN, the applicants are challenging what they described as police harassment over complaints earlier submitted to the CJN and the Enugu JSC against a magistrate and a lawyer.

The applicants are seeking, among other reliefs, an order of perpetual injunction restraining the respondents from “harassing, intimidating, trailing, scaring, arresting or detaining” them over the matter.

They are also demanding N50m as exemplary, punitive, aggravated, special and general damages for alleged infringement of their constitutional rights.

According to court documents obtained by our correspondent on Friday, the bank had earlier petitioned the CJN and Chairman of the National Judicial Council through a letter dated March 6, 2026.

The petition was titled, “Using Instrumentality of the Court to Steal; Unprofessional Conduct and Clear Case of Stealing From the Bank Account of Ohha Microfinance Bank Limited by Benedict Ikechukwu Aniekwe Esq. Demand for Urgent Disciplinary Action Against the Culprit.”

The bank accused a lawyer, Benedict Aniekwe, of fraud, stealing and professional misconduct.

The applicants stated that the CJN responded to the petition by advising the bank to challenge the magistrate’s order through appropriate legal channels.

According to the statement, the bank subsequently petitioned the Enugu State Judicial Service Commission on March 18, 2026.

The petition alleged that Chief Magistrate C.K.C. Idu wrongfully altered the interpretation of an earlier court order issued by another magistrate, O.P. Okoro, in a matter already on appeal before the High Court of Enugu State.

The applicants claimed that Idu allegedly issued an order absolute directing Ohha Microfinance Bank to pay N3.5m allegedly owed by one Ifesinachi Nnam, whom the bank described as neither its customer nor account holder.

According to the statement, the order was allegedly served on Ecobank Plc on the same day by Aniekwe, who also allegedly instructed the bank to transfer the money into his personal account.

The applicants alleged that instead of responding to the petitions before the NJC and the state judicial commission, the magistrate and the lawyer reported them to the police for alleged defamation and conduct likely to cause breach of peace.

The statement further disclosed that a lawyer representing the bank, Wilfred Eziechina, visited the State Criminal Investigation Department in Enugu on May 21, 2026, where police officers allegedly insisted that the bank’s managing director and Omotayo must appear before them on May 25.

The applicants argued before the court that complaints pending before the National Judicial Council and the Judicial Service Commission could not lawfully become the subject of police investigation for defamation, which they described as a civil matter.

No hearing date has been fixed in the matter.