Lagos Police Detain Father For Six Days To Force Daughter’s Appearance Over Alleged N9Million Naira Trading

The Nigeria Police Force has been accused of unlawful detention after arresting one Mr. Kazeem Raji over a petition involving his daughter’s alleged N9,000,000 illegal Naira trading business.

Sahara Reporters gathered that Raji has been in detention at the Lagos State Intelligence Department, SID, Ikeja, since Monday, August 17, 2026.

His detention followed police efforts to use him to compel his daughter’s appearance.

A bail application filed on his behalf on Friday, August 21, 2026, was also not granted despite being received at the Lagos State Police Command Headquarters.

In the application, his lawyer, Cadmus C. Roberts Esq., said his client was not the subject of the petition and not the suspect in the matter, yet was arrested and subsequently detained.

He cited Section 4 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law, Lagos 2021, and Section 35 of the 1999 Constitution, arguing that his detention in place of his daughter is unlawful.

“Our Client, being her father, voluntarily went to the Festac Police Station to make representations regarding her inability to attend. It was in the course of this visit that he was arrested and subsequently detained,” the letter read.

The case, according to documents, involved Miss Zainab Raji and one Amarachi Nnamani.

Amarachi allegedly gave Zainab N9,000,000 to trade in Naira notes with an agreement that N450,000 would be remitted weekly from the proceeds.

Lawyers for Zainab alleged that Amarachi later collected a substantial portion of the N9 million but then added interest to the outstanding balance, raising it to about N40,000,000 before petitioning the police.

Trading in Naira notes, if proven, violates Section 21(4) of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act, 2007, which criminalizes the hawking, selling, or trading of Naira notes.

The bail application further alleged that Zainab was previously arrested and detained for three days between May 11 and May 13, 2026.

“N220,000 was collected from her parents by an Investigating Police Officer before she was released on bail with an instruction to return to FESTAC Police Station,” the letter stated.

According to the lawyers, due to an unforeseen illness, Zainab could not honour a subsequent invitation, prompting her father to visit the station on her behalf.

Roberts argued that the arrest and detention “in lieu of a suspect is unlawful, being expressly prohibited by Section 4 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law, Lagos 2021 and contrary to his right to personal liberty under Section 35 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).”

Meanwhile, the lawyer has taken to X, formerly Twitter, to call out the police authorities.

“Now is the time for me to call out the Nigerian Police. @PoliceNG @NigeriapolicePR @TunjiDisu1. I thought it’s an established law that arrest in lieu is unconstitutional and illegal??” he wrote.

“He has been in custody since Monday the 17th of August and I applied for bail yesterday but it wasn’t granted,” he added.

As of the time of filing this report, the Lagos State Police Command had not responded to the allegations.