Ten residents of Akwueke Umudim/Amuje Ezema community in Imezi-Owa, Ezeagu Local Government Area of Enugu State have dragged the Nigerian Army, the Police and the Enugu State Government before the Enugu State High Court, alleging gross violations of their fundamental rights arising from a military operation carried out in the community in May 2026.
  
The suit, marked E/HR/547/2026, was filed before the High Court sitting in Enugu by the applicants through their lead counsel, Aloy Ejimakor.
  
The applicants include Dominic Okafor, ThankGod Chikelu, Chidi Nosike, Chisom Okafor, a 16-year-old minor suing through her next friend, Dominic Okafor, alongside six other residents who said they are representing themselves and other victims of the alleged military invasion.
  
Joined as respondents are the Nigerian Army, the Chief of Defence Staff, Chief of Army Staff, General Officer Commanding 82 Division, Nigerian Army, the Nigeria Police Force, Commissioner of Police, Enugu State, Commander of the Violent Crime Response Unit (VCRU), the Government of Enugu State and the Attorney-General of Enugu State.
  
In the fundamental rights enforcement suit, the applicants are asking the court to declare as unlawful and unconstitutional the alleged invasion of their community by armed soldiers on May 6, 2026, which they claim resulted in arrests, detention of residents, intimidation, harassment and widespread destruction of homes and property.
  
They are also seeking declarations that the arrest and continued detention of the fourth applicant, Chisom Okafor, a 16-year-old girl, and the seventh applicant, Chukwuka Uwakwe, violated their constitutional rights to personal liberty, dignity of the human person and fair hearing.
  
The applicants further prayed the court to order the immediate and unconditional release of the two detainees unless they are charged before a court of competent jurisdiction.
  
According to the affidavit deposed to by Dominic Okafor, soldiers attached to the 82 Division of the Nigerian Army allegedly stormed the community in military vehicles on May 4 and May 6, 2026.
  
The deponent alleged that upon entering the community, the soldiers fired sporadically, creating panic among residents, before invading homes without search warrants or judicial authorisation.
  
He averred that Chisom Okafor and Chukwuka Uwakwe were allegedly taken away by soldiers without being informed of any offence committed by them.
  
Okafor further claimed that the 16-year-old girl was abducted while attending to her aged grandmother and was left traumatised and emotionally distressed by the incident.
  
The applicants alleged that both detainees have remained in custody since their arrest without being arraigned before any court and that family members and lawyers have repeatedly been denied access to them.
  
Beyond the arrests, the applicants accused soldiers of deliberately setting houses and personal property ablaze during the operation.
  
They alleged that ancestral homes, residential buildings, household items, family documents, electronics, furniture, clothing and other valuables worth millions of naira were destroyed.
  
According to the affidavit, no demolition notices were issued, no court orders authorising the destruction were presented and no compensation has been paid to affected residents.
  
The applicants maintained that the military operation was not a legitimate law enforcement exercise but a punitive raid directed at innocent civilians.
  
They also accused the Enugu State Government of authorising, supporting or failing to prevent the operation.
  
Consequently, the applicants are seeking orders restraining the respondents from further arrests, detention, intimidation or invasion of the community.
  
They are equally asking the court to compel the respondents to reconstruct or compensate them for their destroyed homes and properties and to publish public apologies in two national newspapers.
  
As part of their claims for damages, the applicants are demanding N100 million each for eight of the applicants for alleged psychological trauma, displacement and destruction of property.
  
They are also seeking N150 million in damages for the minor, Chisom Okafor, over her alleged unlawful detention and emotional trauma, as well as N100 million for Chukwuka Uwakwe for alleged unlawful detention and destruction of his property.
  
In addition, they are asking for N100 million as the cost of prosecuting the suit.
  
The applicants prayed the court that, unless urgent intervention is granted, the detained persons may continue to suffer unlawful incarceration while victims of the alleged invasion remain homeless and uncompensated.
  
No hearing date had been announced at the time of filing this report, and the respondents had yet to file their responses to the allegations contained in the suit.