Police rescue Abuja woman chained by brother for 16 months

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A man has been arrested in the Federal Capital Territory after police discovered that he had held his sister captive in a locked room under chains for over one year and four months.

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The FCT Commissioner of Police, Ahmed Sanusi, disclosed the case while briefing journalists in Abuja on Monday, describing it as one of the most dehumanising scenes his officers had encountered.

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He said the command received a distress call on June 12, 2026, indicating that a woman, Grace Aniekuoku, 36, was being held in chains and locked inside a room by her brother, Chinedu Aniekuoku.

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

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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.

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“I ordered that they should invoke the police powers of ingress and liberation to gain access to the premises.

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“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.

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

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“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.

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“Her hair was so grown, like a forest. She became so emaciated that a camera stand is thicker than her neck,” he said.

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

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

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The investigations revealed a chilling motive behind the prolonged captivity.

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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.

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“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.

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

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

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