By BONIFACE AKARAH

The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has called on the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Kayode Egbetokun to intervene in what it describes as “systematic abuse of police power, intimidation, and violent land appropriation” in Nkpolu–Oroworukwo Community, Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

In a petition to the IGP dated January 21, 2026, Sebastine Anyia, 1st Vice President of the NBA and Chairman of its Human Rights Institute (NBA-HRI), alleged that heavily armed police operatives, including tactical units, have been deployed repeatedly to enforce private claims over disputed community land, despite an ongoing court case on the matter. “The police facilities and personnel were allegedly used to enforce private claims, intimidate community leaders, and suppress access to justice,” the petition stated.

The petition detailed reports that community members, journalists, and lawyers were arrested, detained, assaulted, and threatened, with live ammunition and tear gas reportedly used during dispersals. According to the NBA, the continued militarisation of the area is creating a “siege-like atmosphere” and poses “an imminent risk to life, peace, and public order.”

The NBA called on the IGP to immediately withdraw all police operatives from the disputed land, ensure protection for lives and property, reaffirm the force’s neutrality in civil disputes, and institute an independent investigation into the conduct of officers involved. “Nigeria is presently grappling with widespread insecurity, social distrust, and fear. In such times, the Police must remain the impartial guardian of the law, not an instrument of fear or private coercion,” Anyia said.

The association warned that failure to act could undermine judicial authority and public confidence in the Nigeria Police Force. “This intervention is made not in hostility, but in patriotic duty, to safeguard the integrity of the Nigeria Police Force and to prevent a local crisis from degenerating into a wider breakdown of law and order,” the petition concluded.

No official response from the Nigeria Police Force had been recorded as of publication.

Update news