In Akute, Ogun State, a 22-year-old Miva University student, Jeffrey Boniface, was arrested on April 26, 2025, by plainclothes police officers led by ASP John Agbaji over a debt allegedly owed by his mother. The Nigerian police have moved to arraign him without his family’s knowledge.
A source close to the family stated that officers confronted Boniface after he left his home to purchase a recharge card for his mobile phone. When he insisted they show him an arrest warrant, they allegedly assaulted him.
“When the officers confronted Boniface, the son of Mrs. Mayo, who had come out to buy a recharge card in his neighborhood, he requested an arrest warrant, which angered the officers, who immediately attacked him. Boniface resisted arrest on the grounds that the officers were in plain clothes and refused to identify themselves,” the source said.
The source noted that officers refused Boniface’s plea to alert his parents or relatives about his arrest. They ultimately subdued him, took him to their station, and confined him in a cell with individuals accused of criminal offenses
Since his arrest, Boniface has not been allowed to contact his family members, a glaring violation of his fundamental rights.
His lawyer said, He is presently being detained at the Magistrate’s Court at Tinubu, Lagos. The police want to arraign him, and I am making efforts as his lawyer to file a bail application. But my problem now is the surety. I know they will want us to get a surety that will stand as a guarantor for his freedom.”
Boniface recounted his ordeal, stating that the police did not inform his family before taking him to court and did not release his phone to call them.
“They did not inform my family before taking me to court. They did not even release my phone to call them, and my phone is with the IPO. They said I fought the police, and that is not why they even arrested me. They arrested me due to the fact that, based on the transaction that the complainant and my mom had, my mom was paying N50,000 per month. The complainant said I am the one who sent him a voice note. Meanwhile, the police had already put me in a cell. When they analyzed the voice note, they found out that it was not me (who sent the voice note). So they looked for another way to pin me down. They now said that I fought the police,” he said.
“All I did was I just stood my ground that I was not going anywhere. That is all I did when they wanted to arrest me. I told the policeman to give me a reason for my arrest, but they did not give me a reason.
“At that time, my mom was in the house, and I was at a POS center. They said that I was obstructing the police from arresting my mom. I was at the POS center, and my mom was at home. Why didn’t they go to the house to pick her up? It is because they know that they did not have enough claims.
“The complainant was saying he was 100% sure that he heard my voice in the voice note. So they started playing the voice note, and it did not work out like they thought. So they are looking for another way to hold me down.”
“The complainant received it from my mom; the guy who spoke in it claimed to be a banker, and the complainant said that the voicemail was a scam. That it was a fraud. It was I who claimed to be the banker. So when they played the voice, I asked the man, ‘Does this sound like me?’ So when they realized it was not me, they used another thing to pin me down,” he added.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW
The arrest and detention of Jeffrey Boniface over his mother’s alleged debt is a stark reminder of the challenges facing Nigeria’s criminal justice system, from police overreach to systemic barriers in securing justice.
The case underscores the need for reforms to protect citizens’ rights, curb the misuse of police powers in civil disputes, and ensure accountability for officers who violate due process.
Boniface awaits arraignment; his ordeal highlights the human cost of these systemic failures, particularly for young Nigerians caught in the crosshairs of a flawed system.
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