RULAAC urges IGP to intervene over detention of two minors in Lagos
The Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC) has called on the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) to urgently intervene over the reported detention of two minors, aged 16 and 15, in connection with a police investigation involving Lagos businessman Timothy Chika Odoh.
A statement dated September 26, 2026 and signed by Okechukwu Nwanguma, Executive Director of RULAAC, it said Chinedu Eyah, 16, and Kosisochukwu Onojo, 15, were reportedly taken into police custody by officers said to be connected with Area F, Ikeja, Lagos.
According to Odoh, the teenagers had gone to Jibowu Park to waybill inverter batteries to a customer when police officers allegedly took them to his residence and arrested them there, alongside the batteries.
RULAAC said Odoh alleged that an officer identified as Mr Lawal told him that he was the person the police were looking for over a complaint, while the two teenagers remained in custody.
The organisation said that if either minor is suspected of committing an offence, the allegation should be clearly disclosed and investigated in accordance with safeguards applicable to children. However, it said the teenagers should be released if they are being held solely because police are seeking Odoh.
“Children, spouses, workers or relatives must not be used as substitutes or leverage to compel another person to surrender to the Police,” RULAAC said.
The organisation also referred to the reported arrest of Odoh’s wife, Ogechi Juliet Chika, on September 22, when police officers allegedly went to the couple’s residence while Odoh was absent. She was later released following intervention by the Lagos State Commissioner of Police.
RULAAC said Odoh had alleged that his pregnant wife suffered a miscarriage the following day, which he attributed to the trauma surrounding her arrest. The organisation noted that the allegation is part of the wider circumstances requiring investigation.
According to RULAAC, the incidents involving Odoh, his family, workers and business have involved several police formations, including Zone 2 Command, FCID Annex Alagbon and formations under the Lagos State Police Command.
The organisation identified Uche Ozoigwe, whom Odoh described as a security manager associated with ATC Telecommunications, as being at the centre of some of the allegations. Odoh has alleged that Ozoigwe previously threatened to have him imprisoned and force him out of the battery business. RULAAC stressed that the allegations remain subject to investigation.
RULAAC questioned whether the various police actions represent separate criminal complaints supported by independent evidence or substantially related allegations that have resulted in repeated arrests, searches and seizures.
It consequently urged the IGP to call up all related files from Zone 2 Command, FCID Annex Alagbon, Lagos State Police Command, Area F and any other police formation involved, and assign them to a single independent investigative team under Force Headquarters.
The group said it was not seeking to prevent a legitimate investigation against Odoh.
“If telecommunications equipment found in his possession was stolen, investigators should identify the items by serial numbers, match them against company asset registers and trace them to specific reported incidents,” RULAAC said, adding that Odoh should account for the goods and provide evidence of their lawful acquisition.
“Evidence should settle the matter—not an endless succession of arrests,” the organisation said.
