“I Don’t Know Why I Agreed to This” – Nurse Alleges Police Paid Her to Bear False Witness in Rape Case

A nurse, Chiemela Nonye, has accused Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) Nkiruka Ugwu, attached to Area ‘M’ Command, Idimu, Lagos, of paying her to bear false witness in a rape case. Nonye also alleged that the senior officer has been threatening to kill her if she mentions her name in the ongoing investigation at Area ‘D’ Command, Mushin.

When contacted, CSP Ugwu denied involvement, stating, “I told her never to involve my name. She can’t try it. Why would she involve my name? Am I fighting her with Amuche? She should go ahead and do whatever she wants to do. If it is my case she wants, I am ready for her.”

The controversy began after a petition was filed by Mr. Ekwenyu Uchenna, who accused Nonye of falsely claiming she witnessed him defiling three teenage siblings in April 2024. Following this claim, Uchenna was arrested and detained for seven days at Alausa Police Division before being transferred to the Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID) in Abuja, where he spent an additional three weeks in detention.

Uchenna was later moved to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) in Panti, Yaba, where detectives reportedly found no evidence proving he had penetrated the minors. He was released after the investigation cleared him. The mother of the minors was also arrested, as officers alleged she had conspired with him.

Upon his release, Uchenna filed a petition at Area ‘D’ Command, leading to Nonye’s arrest on January 22, 2025. During interrogation, she admitted in a written statement that CSP Ugwu had paid her an undisclosed amount to fabricate allegations against Uchenna and the minors’ mother.

A recorded telephone conversation between Nonye and the mother of the minors surfaced, in which Nonye pleaded for forgiveness, claiming that CSP Ugwu had been threatening her life. “I don’t know why I agreed to this. As I speak with you, I’m in tears. Please forgive me. I didn’t know why I agreed to frame Uchenna,” she said.

In response, the mother of the minors assured her that she had already told her lawyer Nonye was misled. “If they find out you were misled, they will know how to exclude you from the matter. So, leave Uchenna out of this because I have told him you are not the main problem. CSP Ugwu is the real problem. She pushed you into this.”

The minors’ mother further alleged that CSP Ugwu had previously threatened her life and destroyed her business. “CSP Ugwu came to my shop at Cele-Egbe last year and seized my goods. She told the touts in the area to kill me if I tried to go near the shop. She said she was the Divisional Police Officer (DPO). Since then, all my goods have been taken,” she said.