4 siblings drag parents, police to court over unlawful house arrest

An estranged couple identified as Pius and Eucharia Anowai have been dragged to court by four of their children for putting them under unlawful house arrest.

The defendants named in the suit before the Federal High Court in Lagos include; the Inspector-General of Police, the Commissioner of Police, Special Fraud Unit, Ikoyi, Lagos, Mrs Nkem Ezeonwu; Assistant Commissioner of Police, Akinyemi Bose; and Inspector John Akogun of the Financial Monitoring and Intelligence Unit of the Police Special Fraud Unit, Lekki, Lagos.

Others are the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State, Edgal Imohimi; Divisional Police Officer, Ejigbo Police Division, Mr Ovie Dominic; the Divisional Crime Officer, Ejigbo Police Division; and one Mrs Motunrayo of the Ejigbo Police Division.

The plaintiff identified as Chioma, 24, as well as her siblings Stephen, 22; Rita, 20; and Joseph, 18, are demanding the sum of N200m as damages from the defendants and are also seeking that the court declare that their arrest, detention, intimidation and forcible extraction of undertaking from them not to belong to the Holy Ghost School Fellowship, located at 13 Eckankar Drive, Jakande Estate, Oke-Afa, Isolo, Lagos, by the police at the instance of their parents, was arbitrary, unlawful.

Read also: Police arrests 58-yr-old father for defiling his 14-yr-old daughter

According Chioma, a graduate of Pharmacy, in a deposed affidavit, her mother who has been separated from her father introduced them to the Holy Ghost School Fellowship but she later stopped attending the church while the kids continued to attend as they found spiritual fulfillment in the church while their parents were at war.

However, Chioma in the deposed affidavit said her mum threatened to disown them if they continued as members of the church, and went a step further when she later stormed the church premises with some police officers to effect their arrest.

She said, “When I got to the police station, I realised that my father was the petitioner and we were made to answer allegations of being abducted and kidnapped by the Holy Ghost Fellowship. We were handcuffed, humiliated, our photographs were taken and we were dragged to a corner to make statements denouncing our membership of the fellowship and not to step into the fellowship again or move away from our parents’ home from morning till night.

“In order to enforce compliance with the undertaking, our cell phones, which included Samsung S5 valued N105,000; Tecno WX3 valued N35,000; and Tecno Y2 valued N15,000; and Samsung S4 valued at N80,000, belonging to a member of the fellowship, were confiscated till date.

“My academic certificates, which include the Madonna University’s Pharmacy degree certificate, provisional licence to practise and other certificates are in my parents’ custody; I’m unable to apply to perform an internship with any pharmaceutical company as well as the mandatory one-year National Youth Service Corps.”

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now