A man reportedly battling kidney disease, Chief Ugochukwu Lucky Ibekwe, has accused a senior police officer of unlawfully detaining him despite multiple court orders granting his release.
In a petition filed by his lawyer, Damian O. Okoro, SAN, Ibekwe alleged that CSP Omar John Sini, Head of Investigation at the Special Prosecution Team of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Petroleum Product Theft and Sundry Energy Crimes in Port Harcourt, has kept him in custody for over 65 days following his arrest on February 14, 2026.
The arrest was linked to allegations of illegal petroleum dealings, which he maintains remain unproven.
In the petition addressed to the leadership of the Nigeria Police Force and the Police Service Commission, he argued that his constitutional right to the presumption of innocence is being violated.
He further alleged that the investigative process led by CSP Sini was driven by malice.
According to the petition, Ibekwe said he was granted bail by the Federal High Court in Umuahia on reasonable terms.
However, after meeting the bail conditions and securing his release on April 2, 2026, he was re-arrested the same day by operatives of the task force over fresh allegations of money laundering.
The petition claimed that since the re-arrest, he has not been formally charged to court on the new allegations and has remained in custody.
His legal team subsequently approached a High Court in Oyigbo, Rivers State, presided over by Justice F.A. Fiberesima, which on April 21, 2026, also granted him bail on what were described as realistic terms.
The petition, which was copied to the National Security Adviser, the President, and the Senate President, accused CSP Sini and his team of disregarding judicial authority and engaging in unconstitutional detention.
He said he also suffers from hypertension, and expressed concern that his health has deteriorated while in custody.
The petition called for urgent medical attention and his immediate release in compliance with court orders.
The petition also requested a disciplinary investigation into CSP Sini over alleged abuse of power and disobedience of court directives.
It urged authorities to ensure that any allegations against him are pursued through proper legal channels rather than prolonged detention.
When contacted, CSP Omar John Sini confirmed awareness of the court orders and stated that the initial order relating to the crude oil theft allegation was complied with, leading to Ibekwe’s release at the time.
He, however, said the suspect was subsequently re-arrested over a separate allegation of money laundering.
CSP Sini said that Ibekwe is being investigated as a suspected mastermind of illegal activities in the hydrocarbon sector along the Imo River axis, including pipeline tampering and illegal refining.
He added that the money laundering allegation forms a separate line of investigation, noting that the suspect declined to comment on it, insisting only the EFCC has the authority to probe such matters.
He added, “So, we obeyed the court order as usual, as we used to do from our parent organization prior to the creation of this Joint Taskforce.
“He was first and foremost being investigated for crude oil theft. The allegation is that he’s a mastermind of heinous activities, illicit activities in the hydrocarbon sector along Imo River axis and that he used his position as the Mayor of that axis to tamper with pipelines and even hired some pipelines illegally for people to come and tamper and when he tampers, he cooks what they call kpofire and sells.
“And again, another aspect of the investigation is money laundering. So, he was released for the matter of the first court order, absolute released.
“So, the court order was exhausted and honored. So, the second matter was the matter of money laundering which when confronted, he said he will not comment that as far as he is concerned, only EFCC that can investigate it and that is ignorance on his part,” he said.
