The Nigeria Police Force and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) have come under scrutiny following the reported abduction of Secrets Reporters journalist Stanley Ugagbe by security operatives allegedly acting on the orders of the CBN’s Deputy Governor for Operations, Ms. Emem Nnanna Etuk Usoro.
The allegation was made public on Thursday by Secrets Reporters publisher Fejiro Oliver, who accused the police of unlawfully abducting the journalist over an investigative report involving the senior CBN official.
According to Oliver, Ugagbe was seized by armed men shortly after returning from a training programme sponsored by the media organisation.
“The Nigerian security acting on the orders of Ms Emem Nnanna Etuk Usoro who is the CBN Deputy Governor in charge of operations has abducted a reporter with Secrets Reporters, Stanley Ugagbe, over a report on her being a side chic to Jerry Edirin and scattering her marriage according to the man’s wife court filings as well as owning two homes worth over N4 billion in the US,” Oliver said.
He further disclosed that the journalist was picked up on Wednesday while returning from an official assignment.
“He was abducted yesterday while coming from a training the company sent him to. Stanley is also the operations manager of the Network Against Corruption and Trafficking,” Oliver stated.
According to him, the circumstances surrounding the operation raised serious concerns about abuse of power, intimidation of journalists, and possible extrajudicial actions.
Oliver noted that the armed men who reportedly stormed Ugagbe’s residence after seizing him were carrying Israeli-made Tavor rifles and forced their way into the house to confiscate his official phone and laptop.
“When I was told that the men who abducted him and brought him to his house to take his official phone and laptop came with the Israeli Tavor gun, I sent a message to the DG SSS, Tosin Ajayi,” Oliver said.
He stated that the Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS), also known as the State Security Service (SSS), Tosin Ajayi, responded swiftly after receiving the complaint.
“He called me back quickly and I expressed my concern. While on the phone with me, Tosin called the Director of Operations to the office and asked, ‘Did you arrest any Fejiro reporter and if it happened, who authorized such operation?’ The D.Ops said none of such happened,” he said.
Oliver further claimed that the DSS boss immediately ordered inquiries to be made with the Federal Capital Territory command to determine whether any of their personnel was involved.
“DG immediately asked them to call the FCT command to ask about such arrest and that he will get back to me,” he said.
According to Oliver, about an hour later, the FCT command director identified as Dauda Esq contacted him to deny that Ugagbe was in DSS custody.
“We spoke for minutes of the efforts the command has made to be sure none of their operatives carried out such,” he added.
Oliver said he believed the DSS leadership had distanced itself from using cybercrime allegations to target journalists, adding that he had personal knowledge of previous refusals by the agency to participate in such actions.
“The DG SSS I know already warned that he will not be party to using cybercrime charge against journalists or allow public figures use them for such which is why I had to involve him. I know this because his office refused to get involved in my case last year despite petition to them. He blatantly said no, before the rogue police force was now used,” he alleged.
He claimed further investigations pointed to the possible involvement of police personnel.
“Further findings showed that one of the men that came wore knickers and they came with unmarked tinted Pajero Mitsubishi, which is peculiar with the Nigerian Police,” he stated.
Oliver also accused senior police authorities of showing little concern over the incident.
“I have called IGP Disu and his response on phone is very cold on the issue, same issue that DG SSS immediately attended to. Even the force PRO is not helping matters,” he alleged.
According to him, efforts to trace the journalist across multiple detention facilities in Abuja had yielded no result.
“We have searched the police facilities in former SARS, FCT command and parts of police HQs and can’t find him there,” he said.
The publisher likened the alleged action to kidnapping, accusing the police of abandoning their constitutional responsibilities while insecurity worsens across the country.
“In a time where kidnappers and bandits are kidnapping innocent citizens, the Nigerian Police has turned to kidnappers too,” Oliver said.
“Tell me why you will go to outside station and not document your arrival to the base station before carrying out your operations. This is a case of kidnapping and assassination attempt against our staff by the Nigerian Police on the orders of CBN Deputy Governor Emem Usoro.”
He further warned that the alleged disappearance of the journalist could amount to an attempt at extrajudicial killing.
“If the Nigerian Police is the new bandit in town, we deserve to know. You cannot keep abducting journalists on civil cases and hiding them for extrajudicial killings later,” he stated.
“The Police should immediately release Stanley or charge him to court.”
The development comes months after Secrets Reporters published an explosive investigative report on January 29, 2026, detailing allegations surrounding the personal life of CBN Deputy Governor Emem Nnanna Usoro.
The publication had claimed that judicial documents obtained from the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory exposed what it described as a scandal involving adultery, abuse of influence, and high-level financial privilege.
According to the report, Usoro was allegedly named as a co-respondent in a matrimonial suit filed under Suit No: FCT/HC/PET/251/2019.
The case reportedly stemmed from a cross-petition instituted by Mrs. Grace Wesley against her late husband, Mr. Edirin Jerry Wesley, over allegations of adultery and desertion.
The report stated that the legal filings accused Usoro, who at the time was a top executive at United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, of engaging in an intimate relationship with Mr. Wesley while he remained legally married.
According to the court documents cited by the platform, Mrs. Wesley alleged that Usoro knowingly entered into a relationship with her husband despite being fully aware of the subsisting marriage.
The filings reportedly further alleged that children were born from the relationship during the subsistence of the statutory marriage.
Mrs. Wesley, according to the report, asked the court to dissolve the marriage on the grounds that it had broken down irretrievably due to continuous adultery and desertion.
The court papers also sought damages against Usoro and requested an order restraining her from presenting herself as the lawful wife of Mr. Wesley.
The publication additionally claimed that investigations linked the senior CBN official to ownership of two properties in the United States valued at over N4 billion.