Ten residents of Akwueke Umudim/Amuje Ezema community in Imezi-Owa, Ezeagu Local Government Area of Enugu State, have instituted a fundamental rights enforcement suit against the Nigerian Army, the Nigeria Police Force and the Enugu State Government over an alleged military operation that reportedly left residents detained, displaced and homeless.
The suit, filed before the Enugu State High Court and marked E/HR/547/2026, alleges that armed soldiers invaded the community in May 2026, carrying out arrests, intimidation and widespread destruction of homes and property.
The applicants, represented by human rights lawyer Aloy Ejimakor, are seeking judicial declarations that the operation violated their constitutional rights, particularly those relating to personal liberty, dignity of the human person and fair hearing.
Among those at the centre of the suit are a 16-year-old girl, Chisom Okafor, and another resident, Chukwuka Uwakwe, who the applicants claim have remained in detention without being charged before any court.
According to court documents, the residents alleged that soldiers stormed the community on separate occasions, allegedly firing shots, invading homes without warrants and taking away residents without lawful justification.
The applicants further accused security operatives of destroying houses, personal belongings and valuables worth millions of naira during the operation, describing the exercise as a punitive action against innocent civilians rather than a legitimate security operation.
They are asking the court to order the immediate release of the detained persons, restrain further invasions of the community, compel compensation or reconstruction of damaged properties and direct the respondents to issue public apologies.
The residents are also demanding hundreds of millions of naira in damages for alleged unlawful detention, psychological trauma, displacement and destruction of property.
At the time of filing this report, no hearing date had been fixed, while the respondents were yet to file responses to the allegations.
