Man chains sister for 16 months in Abuja

A man has been apprehended in the Federal Capital Territory after law enforcement officials uncovered that he had kept his own sister confined in a locked room, bound by chains, for a duration exceeding one year and four months.

The Commissioner of Police for the FCT, Ahmed Sanusi, revealed this alarming case while addressing reporters in Abuja on Monday, characterizing it as one of the most degrading situations his officers have ever witnessed.

He stated that the police command received an emergency call on June 12, 2026, reporting that a woman named Grace Aniekuoku, aged 36, was being held in chains and locked away in a room by her brother, Chinedu Aniekuoku

“Upon receipt of the report, I immediately dispatched a team of detectives from Katempe Division to the scene,” the commissioner said.

He, however, revealed that on arrival, the suspect refused police entry into his residence — a resistance that triggered the invocation of police powers of ingress and liberation.

“I ordered that they should invoke the police powers of ingress and liberation to gain access into the premises. What that power gives the police is this: if you want to go into a place for a lawful duty and you are restricted, you can break in and do your duty,” the commissioner explained.

Upon gaining entry, he said officers found the victim in a condition the commissioner described as deeply shocking.

“The victim was seen in a highly dehumanising condition, where she had stayed for this long in her own faeces and excreta. She eats there, defecates there — nobody cleans it, nobody cares about her welfare. Her hair was so grown, like a forest. She became so emaciated that a camera stand is thicker than her neck,” he said.

Sanusi added that the victim was immediately rushed to the hospital, where she is receiving treatment.

“We just pray that she survives to tell us the story,” the commissioner said.

Investigations revealed a chilling motive behind the prolonged captivity. The commissioner said the suspect had allegedly taken away the victim’s son to an unknown location about two years earlier, and subsequently locked up his sister to prevent her from raising questions about the child’s whereabouts.

“The suspect had forcefully taken away the victim’s son to an unknown location about two years ago and subsequently kept his sister in confinement to prevent her from raising any questions regarding the whereabouts of the child, who may have been used for sacrifice,” the commissioner said.

He said efforts were ongoing to trace and rescue the missing child, while the suspect remained in custody pending the conclusion of investigations.

“The suspect will be charged to court upon conclusion of the investigation,” the commissioner said.