December 24, 2025 | News | SUNTV Global Channel
The Nigeria Police Force has been accused of defying court orders, extorting money, and violating due process in the prolonged detention of a Kano State resident, Ibrahim Balarabe Abba, over an alleged illegal gun licence.
Family members say what began as a routine investigation in July 2025 has escalated into months of detention, repeated financial demands, and alleged intimidation by senior police officers, leaving them emotionally and financially drained.
According to family sources, the trouble started in the first week of July 2025 when a team of police officers, led by SP Abiodun Adekunle Fasasi, reportedly arrived in Kano to search the residence of another suspect. During the search, officers allegedly recovered a pump-action shotgun said to be for personal protection.
“When the suspect was asked where he got the gun, he mentioned Ibrahim as the source,” a family source told SUNTV Global Channel.
This claim reportedly prompted the officers to proceed to Ibrahim’s residence, where they conducted a search that family members described as traumatic and distressing.
Family sources insist that no firearm was found in Ibrahim’s house. However, a gun licence was allegedly recovered during the search.
“The police arrested Ibrahim, and he even took them to the person who issued him the licence,” the source said.
According to the family, Ibrahim obtained the licence from a retired police officer, without knowing it was allegedly illegal.
“He trusted the authority of the officer who issued it. He never imagined a senior police officer would issue an illegal licence,” the family said.
While the retired officer was not arrested, his son, Abdulmalik Aliyu, was reportedly detained and later released after the family allegedly paid about ₦7 million.
What followed, the family said, was a prolonged cycle of detention and demands for money. Ibrahim was transferred to the Wuse Police Division in Abuja, where officers allegedly refused to formally charge him in court while repeatedly demanding payment for bail.
After about three months in detention, the family said they were forced to pay $1,000 (approximately ₦1.5 million) and provide two sureties in September 2025 to secure his release.
Before that payment, the family had already filed a case at the Federal High Court, Abuja, in August 2025, seeking redress. However, police authorities allegedly failed to appear in court.
“They told us clearly that if we wanted the case to move forward, we must not go to court,” a family source alleged. “That was when they insisted we pay the money and called it bail.”
Despite his release, the family’s relief was short-lived. In November 2025, Ibrahim was invited again by the police and subsequently re-arrested.
“They detained him again and are now demanding ₦5 million for bail,” the family said. “This is despite ignoring earlier court processes.”
In a renewed effort to secure his freedom, the family filed another suit at the Federal High Court, Kano. The court ruled in their favour, ordering the police to produce Ibrahim and justify the legality of his detention.
Court documents obtained show that Justice S.A. Amobeda issued the order on December 9, 2025, following an ex parte application filed by Ibrahim’s legal team under the Fundamental Rights (Enforcement) Rules.
The suit, FHC/KN/CS/521/2025, was filed against the Inspector General of Police, the Nigeria Police Force, the Police Service Commission, the Head of the IGP’s Special Investigation Unit, SP Abiodun Adekunle Fasasi, and the Divisional Police Officer, Wuse Division, Abuja.
Justice Amobeda ordered the respondents to produce Ibrahim in court to determine whether his detention is lawful and also granted interim reliefs, including protection from further harassment pending the determination of the case.
Despite the court’s directive, the family alleged that police officers are pressuring them to withdraw the case and pay another ₦5 million for bail.
“What we have suffered is intimidation and a corrupt system,” a family source said.
They are now appealing for urgent intervention and the immediate release of Ibrahim, saying his continued detention has caused deep emotional trauma and eroded their trust in Nigeria’s justice system.
SUNTV Global Channel will continue to monitor developments in this case.
