Abuja Man Arrested After Keeping Sister Chained in Captivity for 16 Months

Authorities in the Federal Capital Territory have arrested a man who allegedly kept his 36-year-old sister locked in a room and bound in chains for over a year and four months.

FCT Commissioner of Police, Ahmed Sanusi, disclosed the details of the case during a press briefing in Abuja on Monday, describing the scene as one of the most severe instances of domestic abuse uncovered by local law enforcement.

Acting on a distress call received on June 12, 2026, detectives from the Katempe Division were dispatched to a residence where the victim, Grace Aniekuoku, was reportedly being held captive by her brother, Chinedu Aniekuoku. Upon their arrival, the suspect barred officers from entering the property. To gain access, the police invoked their legal powers of ingress and liberation, allowing operatives to break into the premises to execute their duties.

Inside the residence, officers discovered the victim in an extremely emaciated and severely neglected state. She had been confined to a room filled with her own waste, showing signs of extreme malnutrition and physical deterioration. Emergency teams immediately evacuated her to a nearby hospital, where she is currently undergoing urgent medical treatment.

Preliminary police investigations indicate a chilling motive behind the prolonged confinement. Authorities state that the suspect forcefully took his sister’s young son to an undisclosed location approximately two years ago. He allegedly chained and locked the victim away to prevent her from inquiring about her son’s whereabouts or raising an alarm to neighbors.

The FCT Police Command confirmed that the suspect remains in custody and will face formal charges in court as soon as the ongoing investigation is finalized. Meanwhile, intelligence and search operations are actively underway to locate and rescue the missing child.