Nurse alleges police officer paid her to fabricate testimony in minor’s assault case

A nurse, Chiemela Nonye, has accused Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) Nkiruka Ugwu, who is stationed at Area ‘M’ Command in Idimu, Lagos, of paying her to make false statements in a rape case.

Nonye claims that CSP Ugwu threatened her life if she disclosed her name during an ongoing rape investigation at Area ‘D’ Command in Mushin.

When CSP Ugwu was contacted for comment, she denied the allegations and responded angrily, saying, “I told her (Nonye) never to involve my name. She can’t try it. Why would she involve me? Am I fighting her with Amuche? She should go ahead and do whatever she wants. If it’s my case she wants, I am ready for her. She cannot try to mention my name.”

The accusations extend further, as Nonye is also accused of locking the mother of the minors’ shop and instructing local touts to kill her if she attempted to reopen it. CSP Ugwu denied this claim, saying, “I have nothing to say. They can go ahead with whatever they want. I am not a sister to Amuche. God forbid, I am not.”

Nonye was arrested on January 22, 2025, following a petition by Mr. Ekwenyu Uchenna, who accused her of falsely claiming that she witnessed him sexually assaulting three teenage siblings in April 2024. Uchenna was detained for weeks, moving through various police stations and units, including the Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID) in Abuja, and the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) in Lagos. Ultimately, the investigation cleared him, and he was released.

After his release, Uchenna filed a petition with Area D Command, Mushin. During interrogation, Nonye allegedly confessed in writing that CSP Ugwu had paid her an undisclosed sum to fabricate the rape accusations. In a recorded phone conversation between Nonye and the minors’ mother, Nonye is heard begging for forgiveness, claiming that CSP Ugwu threatened to kill her if she revealed the officer’s involvement.

The minors’ mother also alleged that CSP Ugwu had previously threatened her life and destroyed her business. She recalled an incident where the CSP seized her goods from her shop in Cele-Egbe last year, telling local touts to kill her if she attempted to reclaim them, and asserting her authority as the Divisional Police Officer (DPO).