Traders at the popular Onitsha Market in Anambra State have appealed to the newly deployed Commissioner of Police to investigate alleged night raids by police officers who they accused of breaking into shops and carting away goods.
The traders alleged that officers attached to the Area Command in Onitsha conduct the operations late at night, taking goods to the police station and, in some cases, demanding money before releasing them.
Their spokesman, Nnanunyelugo Elias, said the alleged raids usually occur around 10pm, when most traders have left the market.
He alleged that the officers use heavy instruments and rods to break into targeted shops after confirming that the owners and their assistants have gone home.
“The latest of such criminal acts took place at Shop 52, Building Material Section, on August 9, 2026,” Elias said.
He alleged that five officers identified as Inspector Anthony, Inspector Elijah, Sergeant Daniel, Sergeant Ebo and Assistant Superintendent of Police Sebastine invaded a medicine store and removed drugs worth more than N50 million.
According to him, the officers allegedly transported the drugs in a police pickup van to the Area Command.
“They carried out the raid without any official document, no search warrant, no court order,” he alleged.
Elias said the owner of the store went to the command the following morning but was allegedly told that his goods had been taken to a government ministry responsible for seized goods.
“He was not told the offence he committed, whom to meet at the government ministry or the location of the ministry,” he said.
Elias further alleged that a policeman later told the trader that the drugs had been sold and advised him to leave the station to avoid being detained.
“The helpless owner of the store who lost a whopping N50 million had to disappear from the station to lick his wound,” he said.
The traders claimed that similar incidents had occurred previously but that victims were afraid to speak out.
“We are, therefore, calling on the new Commissioner of Police to swing into action by identifying all the policemen involved in these dubious deals because they are well known,” Elias said.
He also alleged that two of the officers named by the traders were involved in a recent shooting incident at Onitsha Head Bridge and called for an investigation into the matter.
“Onitsha is a very volatile city as a commercial nerve centre in the eastern part of the country and if such officers are allowed to continue holding sway, they will bring more bad name to the Police,” the traders said.
Efforts to obtain the reaction of the Anambra State Police Public Relations Officer were unsuccessful, as calls to his telephone did not go through.
The allegations could not be independently verified.
