Crime
My aunt filmed while her husband raped me for eight months – Domestic worker
•She’s a liar, says aunt
In late 2018, Felicia (surname withheld) made a life-changing journey from Abuja, where she had been living with her uncle, to Lagos to spend the Christmas and New Year holidays with one of her aunts.
During her stay, her aunt’s cousin, Mrs Ngozi (surname withheld), reportedly invited the Ebonyi State native to live with her in the Egbeda area of Lagos and promised to also enrol her in school.
On January 4, 2019, 15-year-old Felicia moved in with Ngozi, her husband Emeka, and their children.
Felicia accused the man of the house of giving her inappropriate attention, which escalated to inappropriate physical contact to an instance where he allegedly took her in his car to red-light districts to show her sex workers.
From that point on, Felicia alleged that Emeka repeatedly sexually violated her, with the abuse continuing from September 2021 until May 2022, when she finally fled the couple’s home.
She alleged that when she reported the abuse to Ngozi, the woman continued to support her husband and even forced her to make nude videos to send to Emeka.
In an interview Ngozi denied all these allegations, which she described as lies made up by Felicia and some relatives to blackmail and tarnish their reputation.
Now 21 years old, Felicia lamented that her case has been stalled since 2022, when she first reported it to the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons and seeks justice.
Alleged grooming, sexual molestation
Recounting how the alleged abuse began, Felicia said in May 2021, Emeka instructed her to tell his wife and their senior domestic help that she would not be going to church with them that Sunday because she had stomach ache.
According to her, when everybody left for church, Emeka invited the 17-year-old to one of the rooms in the house and began to ask her a series of questions.
“He told me that he wanted me to feel free, and I said I was. But he insisted I wasn’t, and asked if I could bring my boyfriend to the house. I replied that I didn’t even have a boyfriend. He said he knew what girls did at my age, and then asked me to take off my clothes, but I refused.
“He started touching my breasts, and I started crying. He took me outside the room and said I was behaving like a child. He asked me what I would do for him in return because he’s been the one responsible for my school fees and those of my two brothers, and that I had the opportunity to bring my parents out of poverty. He said he could give me money or anything I wanted. I told him no, that I could not have sex for money.
“He said all he wanted was my body, and he would give me anything that I wanted. He added that with or without money, he would still have his way. Then he started pressing my breasts again, and I started crying. He called me out of the room again and threatened that he must not hear about what transpired from anyone, otherwise, he would kill me,” Felicia said tearfully.
She accused the man of grooming her, alleging that he told her not having sex at her age would have negative effects on her mental health and overall well-being.
Felicia also accused Emeka of exposing her to pornographic material before the first reported incident of sexual abuse, which was said to have occurred in September 2021.
According to her, after she was deflowered by Emeka, she endured repeated sexual assaults by him, occurring both morning and evening.
“Mr Emeka brought up the idea of one of his children sleeping in his room so that every morning when I go there to wake up their boy in their room at about 5am to dress him up for school, he would have sex with me, and it kept happening.
“He also brought up the idea of me following him to the market. Each time we went to the market, he would branch to a hotel and forcefully have sex with me, and before he did this, he always gave me pills,” the 21-year-old alleged.
‘Why I escaped’
Felicia said the first time she confided in Ngozi about the alleged abuse in December 2021, her aunt expressed surprise and asked her why she kept the assaults to herself.
Expressing her fear due to threats from Emeka, Felicia said her aunt told her that the only way her husband could admit to the abuse was if she caught him red-handed in the act.
“She told me to go to him and ask for sex on a particular Sunday and that if he agreed, I should call her on the phone before going to the room. I did exactly as instructed. It was when he had finished having sex with me that she showed up.
“When she came into the room, she started laughing, and I was asked to leave the room. She later came to the room where I was crying and said everything was fine and that I should continue doing what I was doing. That was when I realised she knew about it all along. After that, whenever he (Emeka) called me to come into his room, I would tell her (Ngozi), and she would tell me to go and meet him.
“On another day, she pleaded with me to sleep with her husband, and I refused with tears. She asked me if I can’t help her in her marriage, that if having sex is what I would help her do in the marriage, I should do it,” she alleged.
During her stay with the couple, Felicia claimed that they went to great lengths to prevent her from revealing the truth to her parents, who lived in distant Benue State.
“I didn’t have access to my parents,” Felicia said, her voice tinged with sadness. “The last time I saw them was in 2016. Whenever I spoke to them, Ngozi and her husband were always present. So, every time my parents asked how I was doing, I would have no choice but to tell them I was fine, even though everything was falling apart.”
“Each time I was having my period, he (Emeka) would have sex with me through the anus. Or he would ask me to suck his manhood until he releases in my mouth. The day I swallowed his sperm, I started having serious stomach pains, and I told Ngozi, but she told me to always smile and that if anyone should, for any reason, ask me what was wrong with me, she would deal with me,” she recounted.
Felicia also accused Ngozi of giving her waist beads, urging her to use them to make nude videos for her husband.
According to her, when the alleged abuse became unbearable, Felicia said she started to save up whatever money she could find around the house. Eventually, when she told Emeka that she was pregnant and wanted to have an abortion, he gave her N27,000.
“When I was able to find my way back to Benue State, my mum took me to the hospital for treatment,” she disclosed, her voice trembling slightly. “The results showed that there had been forceful penetration, and that’s all I can remember from that time. Afterwards, my aunt called me, and when she heard about what had happened, she invited me to Abuja.”
Ngozi responds
Responding to the allegations made against her husband, Ngozi said she brought Felicia into her home with the intention of helping and giving her a better life.
“We took care of her, enrolled her in a private school, bought her textbooks, and even arranged for a home teacher. I treated her like my own daughter. I wanted her to be closer to Christ as well, so we had her baptised and confirmed in the Anglican Church. But to our surprise, we discovered that this girl was a liar and a pretender. She knows how to play the role assigned to her very well,” Ngozi claimed.
“At first, I started getting several complaints from her school teachers and even the principal. She accused her principal of sexually abusing her. The owner of the school had to call me and advised me to watch her carefully. One day, I got a call from her school that she was caught in one of their laboratories talking to someone on a video call.
“I was alarmed because everybody knows school regulations about phones; how did she take her phone to school? The funny part is that she deleted everything on that phone. The teachers found some nude photos on that phone, and one of the teachers called me to watch out for her,” Ngozi said.
She claimed to have taken the phone from Felicia when they arrived home, and later said she found out that the teenager allegedly sexually abused her one-year-old son.
“When I found out, I called the people who brought her here to report. Later, I discovered that she also steals, which was brought to my attention by one of the senior domestic helpers I had. In December 2021, her aunt visited us, and after hearing about what she had done, she flogged her in my presence.”
“My husband didn’t like it because we don’t treat our kids like that, but there was little I could do, and I blame myself partly because I gave her too much comfort.
“She was well taken care of, and there are photos of her while she was in our house. How could someone being abused look like this? I didn’t treat her differently from my children. I took her to school myself and picked her up. We didn’t go out without her,” she added.
Ngozi blamed what she described as an internal family dispute for the accusations Felicia made against her and her husband, alleging that the families where she had previously lived had been abusive.
“That girl has lived in several states. She was maltreated, and we heard she was trafficked by different men when she was in Abuja. Before she came to our house, she was treated badly. She told me that her aunt used to give her only a sachet of noodles and had once poured hot water on her,” Ngozi said.
“They were teaching her to say all these bad things about me and my husband. Come to think of it, what kind of woman would allow her husband to sleep with another girl, let alone a girl of her age? She claims I recorded her nude videos. But wasn’t it she and her aunt who posted those videos on social media?”She then showed our correspondent a TikTok video dated June 14, 2022, on her phone, which depicted Felicia wearing revealing clothes and a waist bead, dancing seductively.
Ngozi alleged that this was one of the videos found on Felicia’s phone after she left their home, adding that the girl was also involved in lesbianism.
“Her classmates said it, and that’s the truth; that girl is a lesbian. She hated her parents and even her aunt here in Lagos. Everything she said about us is a lie. I refused to release her phone, and we warned her that lesbianism carries a 14-year sentence, which was why she fled our house,” Ngozi added.
“She stole my jewellery, my children’s clothes, and money before escaping,” Ngozi alleged. “It was only after she left that we discovered on her phone that she was doing giveaways on social media; they even called her ‘cash madam.’ She also had a boyfriend in Benin City, Edo State, because we initially thought that’s where she ran off to and even spoke with him.”
Ngozi showed our correspondent a photo on her phone, revealing Felicia with a young man, likely in his early 20s.
“We kept searching for her, put her photo on blogs, and reported the matter to the police. We also tried calling her mother, but her phone wasn’t connecting. It was only later that her mother called me to say that Felicia was back at their place and said some unpleasant things to me,” she added.
Efforts to reach Emeka for comment were unsuccessful, as his phone was switched off and messages sent via SMS and WhatsApp had not been replied to at the time of filing this report.
This is as the agency said terrorist financiers were opening bank accounts in women’s names as well as using phone numbers for mobile banking or account alerts that are not registered to the account holder or the true beneficiary.
The disclosures are contained in the NFIU’s 2025 Annual Report, obtained by The PUNCH from a top official.
According to the report, the crowdfunding scheme involves foreign-based facilitators using social media platforms to solicit donations under the guise of humanitarian relief or educational support, before moving the funds through multiple layers to terrorist operatives in Nigeria.
The NFIU said hundreds of sympathisers were typically encouraged to make relatively small donations, ranging from $50 to $500, through PayPal pages or conventional bank accounts, with the amounts deliberately kept low enough to evade automated anti-money laundering alerts.
“The following is a case study on Crowdfunding Network identified during the year: A foreign-based facilitator runs social-media campaigns claiming humanitarian relief or educational support and uses encrypted apps (Telegram, Signal) to share links to convincing PayPal pages or standard bank accounts.
“Hundreds of sympathiser donors contribute $50–$500 each, amounts small enough to avoid most automated AML alerts,” the report read.
The funds are subsequently pooled into a “master account” controlled by a senior member of the group living legally abroad.
“When the pool reaches a threshold, that account becomes the hub for onward movement,” the report stated.
The NFIU said the funds were then fragmented into dozens of smaller payments and transferred through International Money Transfer Operators and remittance applications to a network of money mules in Nigeria.
It identified students, small-business owners and relatives among those used as mules, noting that the strategy was designed to avoid reporting thresholds and obscure the origin and destination of the funds.
“Rather than sending one large transfer, the senior member fractures the funds and sends dozens of sub-threshold payments through IMTOs and remittance apps to a network of money mules in Nigeria; students, small-business owners, or relatives, avoiding reporting triggers.
“Upon receipt, the money was either converted to cash, used to purchase dual-use items such as motorcycles, fertilisers and satellite internet equipment, or transferred through mobile banking channels to logistics managers and field operatives,” it added.
The report described the final stage as the “integration” of the funds into terrorist operational financing.
The Unit also identified the use of gender-based proxy accounts as another emerging terrorist financing technique, with terrorists opening bank accounts in women’s names while male commanders or logistics managers secretly control them.
“Terrorist financiers are opening bank accounts in women’s names while male commanders and logistics managers secretly control them.
“They exploit cultural norms that make women less likely to be suspected by authorities, using wives, sisters, or female associates as fronts to distance illicit funds from the true operatives.
“This tactic functions as identity laundering: women’s accounts are managed by men who hold ATM cards, mobile-banking credentials, and PINs, while the women often remain unaware of the transactions and volumes,” the report stated.
The report further revealed that terrorist facilitators were using telephone numbers that were not registered to the account holders or actual beneficiaries for mobile banking and transaction alerts.
It said pre-registered SIM cards, numbers registered to deceased persons and SIMs linked to gender-based proxies were being used to break the connection between bank accounts, SIM cards and Bank Verification Numbers.
“Terrorist facilitators use phone numbers for mobile banking or account alerts that are not registered to the account holder or the true beneficiary.
“They bypass the security link between SIM cards and BVNs by using pre-registered SIMs, SIMs registered to deceased people, or SIMs tied to gender-based proxies. This severs the audit trail: when a transaction is flagged, investigators trace the phone to an unrelated person, letting the real facilitator stay anonymous and continue operations,” it stated.
The NFIU also uncovered sophisticated methods of disguising terrorist transactions through detailed or coded narrations.
It said cells, particularly those linked to the Islamic State West Africa Province, used precise transaction descriptions to maintain what analysts described as an internal accounting system.
According to the report, frequent logistics-related payments with detailed narrations were often sent from a single source to multiple recipients, reflecting a structured financial system within the terrorist network.
“Terrorist cells, particularly those linked to ISWAP, routinely use precise, professional-sounding transaction narrations to maintain internal accounting. Operating like “shadow states” with strict bureaucratic controls, they require detailed descriptions so field commanders can justify expenses to central financial controllers. Although truthful narrations appear counterintuitive, they create an internal audit trail; analysts repeatedly observe high-frequency, logistics-related payments with accurate narrations sent from a single source to multiple recipients,” the report said.
However, the NFIU said some facilitators used innocuous words, secret codes and alphanumeric strings in transaction descriptions, sometimes switching between languages, to conceal the purpose of payments and evade automated bank filters.
“Transaction descriptions employ innocuous words, secret codes, or alphanumeric strings to conceal intent. Facilitators use this coded language, often switching languages to evade banks’ automated keyword filters that flag terms like ‘Jihad,’ ‘Arms,’ or ‘Boko.’
“This practice obscures the true purpose of transfers, preventing detection and enabling continued financing,” it said.
The NFIU said its risk and crime analysis during the year identified an increasingly interconnected threat landscape involving financial crime, technology and cross-border activity.
It noted that fraud remained a dominant predicate offence, with growing cases of Ponzi schemes, fraudulent crowdfunding arrangements, cryptocurrency-enabled investment scams and hacking-related fraud.
The Unit said the schemes increasingly exploited fintech onboarding gaps, including tiered accounts requiring minimal identification, while digital platforms were used to rapidly recruit victims and move funds.
The report also highlighted persistent vulnerabilities in public sector financial management, including the diversion of state and local government funds through accounts belonging to finance officers and associated third parties.
It identified procurement processes and cash transactions as significant risk areas, saying the latter complicated audit trails and efforts to trace illicit assets.
The NFIU said its findings were translated into targeted advisories, executive alerts and strategic intelligence products to support competent authorities, reporting entities and policy responses.
Six suspected members of a gang of gunmen terrorising Amiyi Community and neighbouring towns in Ogbaru Local Government Area of Anambra State have been killed by a joint security task force.
The gunmen met their end after security operatives, acting on intelligence gathered over several days, tracked them to their camp around the River Niger creek.
The operation involved personnel of the Nigeria Police Force Rapid Response Squad, Awkuzu; Department of State Services (DSS); 302 Artillery Regiment, Onitsha; Nigerian Navy personnel from Ogbaru; and Agunachamba operatives from the community.
The security team trekked for about four hours through difficult terrain and dense palm forest before reaching the suspected criminal camp.
On sighting the operatives, the gunmen opened fire, triggering a prolonged gun battle.
At the end of the encounter, six suspected members of the group were neutralised, while others fled, some reportedly with gunshot wounds.
Two pump-action guns and charms were recovered from the camps, while structures believed to have been used by the gang were subsequently dismantled.
However, the operation came at a cost, as one security operative was killed and another injured after an explosive device suspected to have been planted in the area detonated.
The injured operative is receiving treatment in a hospital.
The Anambra State Commissioner of Police, CP Nnanna Oji Ama, commended the security personnel and community-based operatives for their courage and resilience, describing the operation as a demonstration of the importance of intelligence sharing, inter-agency cooperation and community support in tackling violent crime.
He commiserated with the family and colleagues of the fallen operative and wished the injured officer a speedy recovery.
The Commissioner assured residents that security agencies would sustain intelligence-led operations to dismantle criminal camps, recover illegal weapons and prevent armed groups from establishing operational bases across Anambra State.
Operatives of the Enugu State Police Command have rescued three victims of abduction and recovered their Lexus RX350, two locally made firearms and ammunition following a hot pursuit of suspected kidnappers in Enugu.
The operation was carried out by operatives of the Anti-Cultism Sub-Unit of the Violent Crime Response Unit (VCRU), with support from members of the Neighbourhood Watch Group and local residents.
According to a statement by the Command’s Police Public Relations Officer, SP Daniel Ndukwe, the operation followed credible intelligence received at about 1:30 a.m. on August 18, 2026, while the operatives were conducting crime-prevention patrols along the Port Harcourt Expressway.
The information concerned the carjacking and abduction of occupants of a Lexus RX350 by armed hoodlums in the Independence Layout area of Enugu.
The operatives immediately launched a hot pursuit which led to Hillview Road, Independence Layout, where the suspects abandoned the vehicle and firearms before fleeing into the area.
The three victims were subsequently rescued unharmed and taken to safety with the assistance of Neighbourhood Watch members and other residents.
Police said they recovered one locally fabricated Beretta-like pistol loaded with five rounds of 9mm live ammunition, one locally made cut-to-size firearm and one live cartridge.
Other items recovered were a pair of hand gloves, a ski mask and a mobile phone.
The Command said investigation had been intensified and a manhunt launched for the fleeing suspects, with efforts ongoing to identify and apprehend them, recover additional exhibits and establish their involvement in the crime.
The Commissioner of Police, Enugu State Command, CP Mamman Bitrus Giwa, commended the police operatives, Neighbourhood Watch members and residents for their swift and coordinated response.
Giwa reiterated the Command’s commitment to intelligence-led and community-supported operations against kidnapping, armed robbery, car snatching and other violent crimes.
He also urged residents to remain vigilant and provide the police with timely and credible information that could assist in preventing and solving crimes.
The Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC) has arrested a suspect for allegedly swindling 16 job seekers within Enugu metropolis.
The Commandant of NSCDC Enugu State Command, Dr Elijah Willie, disclosed this while briefing journalists on the arrest and investigation on Monday.
Willie said that the suspect collected a total of N6,139,000 from the ignorant and unsuspecting job seekers.
He said that the suspect, Mrs Serah Onyemerela, had been evading arrest by many security agencies until a resourceful officer of the command tracked her down and brought her to the Command.
The Commandant said that the suspect collected the sum of N306,000 from each of the 16 job seekers in the alleged job racketeering or job scam,which totalled N6,139,000.
“On August 12 and 18, 2026, Mrs Love Nnenna Onyema and Mrs Chidimma Ubah, the complainants, reported that Mrs Serah Uchechukwu Onyemerela, the suspect, defrauded them of N770,000 and N424,500 respectively.
“This amount to a total of N1,194,500 from both. However, the ones collected among the remaining people that made up the 16 job seekers at N306,000 each totalled N6,139,000.
“The suspect allegedly promised to assist the complainants in securing employment at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH).
“However, there is evidence indicating a lack of genuine intent, as there are no current job vacancies available, and the suspect has failed to refund the amounts as promised,” he said.
Willie said that on Aug. 17, 2026, the suspect was summoned, tracked and subsequently detained due to her inability to fulfil the conditions of an administrative bail application facilitated by the NSCDC Enugu State Command.
“The suspect has since confessed to the charges of job fraud and obtaining money under false pretences.
“The funds were transferred to a personnel account linked to Mrs Onyemerela Serah Uchechukwu,” he said.
The Commandant also warned job seekers and people seeking for help in any form to ensure no one places them in a condition to pay first before rendering a help.
Willie called on Nigerians, enlightened or not, to see the red flag that any help being offered even in prayer houses and money payment comes before the job or help is “total fraud”.
He said, “Our people should get wise like people in advance world and stop falling prey to swindlers and wicked people who are bent on taking the little they have from them.
“However, the NSCDC has a mandate to take away these unscrupulous elements out of the society for Nigerians to experience peace as well as the trust and bond in the society continue.”
The suspect would be handed over to the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) soon as the NSCDC conclude its preliminary investigations on the matter.
A police inspector has been killed and another officer seriously injured after gunmen allegedly ambushed a joint security team in Jigawa State.
The incident occurred on Saturday, August 22, 2026, after security personnel responded to reports of farmland destruction in Gwaram Local Government Area.
According to a security report obtained by Zagazola Makama, the attack took place at about 3pm in a forested area.
The joint team comprised personnel from Gwaram and Fagam police divisions, the 35 Police Mobile Force and local security outfits. Members of the Vigilance and Community Response Unit (VCRU) and Operation Salama also participated in the operation.
The report said the team had been patrolling the area following recurring complaints involving suspected herders and farmland destruction.
The personnel reportedly came under attack after entering the area, with the assailants said to have used arrows.
Inspector Bukar Wakili, attached to Gwaram Division, was reportedly struck in the face and sustained serious injuries.
Another officer, Inspector Mohammed Shafiu of the VCRU in Dutse, was also injured during the incident.
Both officers were taken to a hospital, where Shafiu was confirmed dead, according to the report.
Bukar was later referred to the Malam Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital for further medical treatment.
The identities and affiliation of the attackers have not been independently confirmed, and no group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Additional tactical teams were subsequently deployed to reinforce the security personnel and support efforts to identify those responsible.
Police have opened an investigation into the incident and maintained a security presence in the affected area.
The attack comes amid recurring disputes involving farmers and herders in parts of northern Nigeria, where disagreements over farmland and grazing routes can sometimes escalate into violence.
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