Criminal defamation or criminal intimidation: Exposing the phantom charges against me

By Chinedu Agu

It is no longer news that on Wednesday, 17 September 2025, I honoured the invitation by the X-Squad Unit of the Nigeria Police Force, Imo State Command, over allegations of “Criminal Defamation of the Governor of Imo State” and “conduct likely to cause a breach of the peace.”

This account is not intended to sensationalize the matter, but rather to lay bare certain uncomfortable truths which I am prepared to stand by, as they are rooted in incontrovertible facts which demonstrate three clear points:

1. The persecution against me was directly initiated by a Commissioner.

2. The so-called “civil society organisation” presented as the originator of the petition against me – Imo Democratic Alliance, allegedly coordinated by one Umukoro Marvis Udechukwu – does not exist in Nigeria. It is not registered and has no traceable office address anywhere in the country.

3. But for the courage and professionalism of Magistrates in Imo State, and the overwhelming solidarity of lawyers, civil society organisations, and friends, I would have been languishing in detention much earlier.

What follows should shed light on the rot, the decay, and the complicity that continue to fester in our Imo State.

At 12:47 p.m. on 12 September 2025, my phone rang. The caller introduced himself as a police officer and asked if I was Chinedu Agu. Without hesitation, he informed me that there was a petition against me for “criminal defamation of His Excellency, the Governor of Imo State.” He further requested me to honor an invitation to appear before the X-Squad Unit of the State Police Command on Wednesday, 17 September 2025.

Curious, I asked about the source of the petition. He replied that it came directly from the Imo State Ministry of Information and even went on to mention the name of the official who signed it.

When I requested for a copy of the petition he responded I would have to “call Oga” for a copy. When I reached out, “Oga” categorically told me I could not be given a copy of the petition except I applied formally to the Commissioner of Police for a Certified True Copy (CTC).

After we eventually settled on a date for my encounter with the X-Squad, the officer reluctantly sent an “Invitation Letter” to me via WhatsApp. That letter, bare as it was, stood as a symbol of something deeper—the rot and decay in our system, where power is wielded not to protect truth and justice, but to intimidate voices that dare to speak both.

This refusal by the police to furnish a citizen with a copy of the petition forming the basis of his invitation raises grave constitutional and statutory issues. Under Section 36(6)(a) & (b) of the 1999 Constitution, every person facing criminal allegations has the right to be informed “promptly and in detail” of the nature of the offence, and to have adequate facilities for the preparation of his defence. Denying access to the petition until one applies for a CTC clearly violates this right.

The Administration of Criminal Justice Law of Imo State, 2020 (ACJL) reinforces this. Section 8 of the ACJL guarantees fair hearing, while Section 17 mandates humane treatment and respect for the dignity of suspects. Transparency at the investigative stage is, therefore, not a matter of grace, but a constitutional and legal obligation.

This practice, whereby the police serve an invitation letter yet withhold the petition that underpins it, fosters intimidation, secrecy, and abuse of power. It effectively disarms the citizen and turns what should be a fact-finding process into a trap.

I digress.

On the agreed date, I arrived at the station accompanied by a team of lawyers numbering about 72. I was ushered in together with Chief Chris Ihentuge, Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Owerri Branch, and Chief H.N. Duroha, Chairman of the Sports Committee of the branch. A police officer, who introduced himself as the “2/IC”, laboured rather gratuitously to persuade us that the petition did not emanate from the Ministry of Information but rather from “Imo Democratic Alliance”. To convince us, he brought out a two-page petition and read the first page aloud. He then handed me over to the Investigating Police Officer (IPO) to whom the matter had been assigned.

At the IPO’s office, he made to read the petition to me. I politely requested to personally peruse it. What I saw was a farce: a hastily contrived letterhead, garishly designed, with “IMO DEMOCRATIC ALLIANCE” written in capital letters. Its motto, inscribed in red, declared “FOR GOOD GOVERNANCE.” On the top right corner of the page was a needless sketch of the map of Imo State. It bore no office or return address. The “petition” was dated 2 September 2025 and captioned, “Criminal Defamation of the Governor of Imo State and Incitement of the public against Imo State Government and the Police by Barr. Chinedu Agu.”

The “petition” referred to two articles authored by me: the latter article, “Imo State – Where Justice in On Vacation During Court Vacation”, was published 31 August 2025. The earlier one, “Tears From Enugu: A Lawyer’s Heartbreaking Diary From a State That Works To a State In Ruins”, was published one day earlier on 30 August. The author alleged that I published both with the “intention to incite an insurrection against state institutions through the vicious provocation of the citizens”. It concluded by warning that “if Barr. Agu is not called to order now, he may be on his way to inciting the citizenry into violent action.” Critically, the author did not say how either article had incited anyone nor suggest how I was to be called to order. 

The petition was signed by one “Umukoro Marvis Udechukwu”, who claimed to be the “Co-ordinator” of the Imo Democratic Alliance.

In my response, I pointed out that this petition did not disclose any offence known to law. On the accusation of “criminal defamation”, everything I wrote in my two pieces is factual and truth is a complete defence to defamation. I requested the IPO to retrieve and review the full texts and identify a single line that was untrue.

I also added that the law does not permit a third party to lay such a complaint. Defamation is personal, and no busybody can initiate action in that regard. The fictitious organisation did not allege defamation of itself, nor did Umukoro Marvis Udechukwu allege defamation of his own person.

Importantly, the so-called petition did not annex the articles complained of. Instead, it imported mutilated texts, using only those parts that suited its persecutorial purpose. As for the allegation of “inciting the public,” I also invited the police to point to a single line in my articles that did any such thing.

Upon leaving the police, I immediately conducted a search on the portal of the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC). Imo Democratic Alliance is legally non-existent. It is not a registered organisation. To use such a phantom entity as source for a law enforcement procedure is itself criminal.

On the evening prior to my scheduled encounter with the police on 17 September, I received credible information that my detention was already pre-determined. Indeed, the police made strenuous efforts to procure a magistrates’ signature for an order to detain me but none could be persuaded at the time to lend legitimacy to such illegality.

Frustrated by that setback, and confronted with the overwhelming solidarity of more than seventy-two lawyers who accompanied me to the station, the police chose to release me on bail, on self-recognizance. It was a temporary respite.

Thereafter, they fixed a fresh encounter for early afternoon on Tuesday, 23 September.  I shall honour that invitation once again to see what new tricks they will conjure.

One undeniable truth from this entire episode is that initiator of the police persecution against me is the Imo State Commissioner of Information. I welcome genuine legal process. I am not afraid of lawful process but I already suspect that is not what this is about.

A former secretary of the NBA, Owerri Branch, Chinedu Agu wrote this piece on 20 September 2025. Since 23 Sept 2025 he had been detained at the direct instigation of the Imo State Government. He can be reached at ezeomeaku@gmail.com

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