A senior police officer, Nkeiruka Nwode, has denied allegations linking her to a fraud investigation involving over N100 million allegedly withdrawn from the bank account of a detained suspect in Anambra State.
Nwode, who served as the Zonal Police Public Relations Officer for Zone 13, said the matter began on January 21, 2023, when a lawyer, Barrister Nweke, accompanied by Onyinye Ekwueme, reported that two brothers, Chibuike and Tochukwu Ekwueme, arrested by a Joint Task Force on January 11, had gone missing.
According to her, the lawyer also raised concerns that large sums of money were being withdrawn from one of the suspect’s bank accounts without authorization.
She said the case was immediately reported to the then Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Abutu Yaro, who contacted the Anambra State Commissioner of Police.
The commissioner later confirmed that one of the suspects was in the custody of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) in Awkuzu.
Nwode explained that during internal inquiries, the RRS commander reportedly disclosed that a serving National Youth Service Corps member, Nnamdi Daniel Emeh, had withdrawn funds from the suspect’s account.
She said efforts were launched to locate the corps member, who had reportedly gone into hiding, but investigators later contacted him through WhatsApp, where he allegedly claimed the money was with a police officer.
Further investigations, she said, traced about N46 million to a Bureau de Change operator in Onitsha following bank alerts showing multiple transfers into the operator’s account.
The operator was arrested and reportedly told investigators that the funds were transferred on the instruction of Paul Okorie, said to be a personnel of the Department of State Services (DSS). The money was later converted into dollars and handed over through a bank staff member.
Nwode said investigators subsequently placed restrictions on Okorie’s bank accounts as part of efforts to track the movement of the funds.
Despite her role in pursuing the investigation, the officer said she later became the target of what she described as coordinated media attacks aimed at forcing her to drop the case.
She added that the investigation continued, leading to the arrest of the fleeing corps member in the Benin Republic before he was returned to Nigeria.
Nwode maintained that her actions were guided by professionalism and a commitment to protecting the integrity of the police.
She insisted that officers who expose wrongdoing within the system deserve recognition rather than public attacks.
The development comes amid ongoing public debate over accountability and transparency within Nigeria’s law enforcement agencies.