The Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG) in charge of Zone 13, Mr. Godwin Iguh-Eze, has ordered an exhaustive investigation into the controversial death of a 26-year-old bricklayer, Ndudi Valentine Mmadudilim, who allegedly died while in police custody under the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) in Anambra State.
The directive followed a dramatic inspection visit by the AIG to the RRS Police unit, Akwuzu, where he reportedly confronted officers over the circumstances surrounding Mmadudilim’s arrest, detention, and eventual death, which remained undisclosed to his family for nearly two years.
Mmadudilim, an indigene of Ozubulu in Ekwusigo Local Government Area of Anambra State, was allegedly rearrested by operatives of the RRS in 2024 shortly after securing bail in a criminal case. Since then, his family had repeatedly demanded information about his whereabouts, suspecting unlawful detention and possible disappearance.
The case took a new turn on Thursday when the AIG, acting on the directive of the Inspector-General of Police, Olantuji Disu, stormed the facility and ordered the Anambra State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Ikioye Orutugu, to immediately investigate both the immediate and remote causes of Mmadudilim’s death.
The officers initially denied knowledge of the case. However, after the AIG ordered a comprehensive review of all case files dating from 2024 to date, Police personnel reportedly admitted that the suspect had died in custody about two years ago. The revelation obviously infuriated the AIG, who questioned why the family had never been informed of the death despite the Police possessing the deceased’s case file and residential details.
“Somebody died since 2024 and you never notified the family. You have the case file, you have the address, and you even carried out an inquest without the presence of the family. The family is not aware of the whereabouts of the corpse. There should be more to it than what you are saying now,” visibly peeved Iguh-Eze told the officers during his visit.
He further warned that the matter would not be swept under the carpet, emphasizing that the Inspector-General of Police had shown personal interest in the case and was awaiting a detailed report in Abuja. The AIG also directed the Commissioner of Police to sanitize the RRS facility, which he described as notorious for complaints bordering on intimidation, unlawful detention, denial of bail, physical assault of suspects, and other forms of unprofessional conduct.
He stressed that every officer attached to the squad would be subjected to questioning and that anyone found culpable would face disciplinary and possible criminal consequences.
Meanwhile, Police sources alleged that Ndudi Valentine Mmadudilim may have been tortured to death shortly after his rearrest and that his remains were deposited in an undisclosed location without the knowledge of his family. The disclosure reportedly threw members of the deceased’s family into shock as one of the elder sisters, Lilian Nnenne Mmadudilim, immediately collapsed at the police station upon learning that her brother had died in custody.
After recovering, she demanded to know the exact location of his body, but officers only informed her that it was in a mortuary without providing further details. Speaking on behalf of the family, the 38-year-old businesswoman accused the Police of concealing the death and frustrating efforts to locate her brother since his rearrest.
According to her, the family had petitioned the Inspector-General of Police over what they described as unlawful arrest, prolonged detention, and the suspected disappearance of Mmadudilim. She alleged that throughout the period of detention, family members were denied meaningful access to him despite providing food and other necessities. “The arrest was more like a kidnapping. We were taking food and money to the station for my brother, but they never allowed us to see him. Every time we came, there was one excuse or another,” she claimed.
She narrated that her brother was initially arrested in November 2023 by members of the Anambra Vigilante Service allegedly led by one Jude Ononuju, chairman of the group’s Ozubulu branch. According to her, he was detained at a vigilante facility for three days before being transferred to Ugwu-Olie Police Station and subsequently arraigned before a Chief Magistrate Court sitting in Ozubulu on allegations of cultism and unlawful possession of a locally made double-barrel pistol.
Court records, she said, later exposed weaknesses in the prosecution’s case. She claimed that a Certified True Copy of proceedings showed that the presiding magistrate, O.I. Nworah, granted Mmadudilim bail after discovering that an alleged confessional statement tendered by the police was unsigned and unverified. She further maintained that the vigilante leader who arrested her brother never testified that he was found in possession of any firearm, contrary to earlier police claims.
Based on those findings, the court reportedly granted bail on August 15, 2024, in the sum of ₦500,000 with two sureties and directed that the original case file be forwarded to the office of the Attorney-General. However, the family alleged that while complying with court processes, Mmadudilim was rearrested by operatives of the Rapid Response Squad at the court premises and subsequently disappeared.
Lilian Nnenne Mmadudilim identified an officer she named as Ndukwe as the Investigating Police Officer handling the matter, accusing him of verbally abusing family members and demanding money whenever they attempted to visit the suspect. The family also alleged that the dispute may have stemmed from a personal rivalry involving a woman rather than any criminal activity.
According to Lilian, her late brother and the vigilante leader who allegedly facilitated his arrest had been involved in a disagreement over a female companion. She claimed that the vigilante leader had repeatedly boasted that Ndudi Valentine Mmadudilim would die in detention because of his alleged connections within the police hierarchy. “Now my brother has truly died in police custody. Police killed my brother. We want justice. We want to know where his body is and what happened to him,” she said amid tears.
