Six members of Nigeria’s National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) have filed a ₦1 billion lawsuit against the Anambra State Government, alleging brutal assault and unlawful detention by a state-backed vigilante group, Agunechemba.
The corps members—Jennifer Elohor, Greatness Oyeh, Eze Ikenna, Anighoro Godspower, Feyisara Amore, and Chimenum Wonodi—brought the case before the Federal High Court in Awka, naming the Anambra State Government, Governor Chukwuma Soludo, the State Attorney-General, and the vigilante group as respondents.
Their legal action follows a viral video in August showing armed vigilante operatives storming a residential lodge and attacking the corps members. One of the victims, Elohor, was reportedly beaten and stripped naked as the men accused the group of being “yahoo boys”—a slang term for internet fraudsters.
Despite presenting their NYSC identity cards, the plaintiffs say they were physically assaulted, humiliated, and detained without cause.
Through their lawyer, Cyrus Onu, the corps members are seeking ₦1 billion in compensation for the “mental, physical, financial, emotional, and psychological trauma” they claim to have suffered.
In the suit, marked FHC/298/2025, they are also asking the court to declare their arrest, torture, and detention “illegal, unlawful, unwarranted, unconstitutional, and an infringement of their fundamental rights.”
The plaintiffs further seek an order compelling the respondents to issue a public apology, to be published in at least two national and one local newspaper in Anambra State.
The case has renewed debate over the operations of local vigilante groups across Nigeria — often praised for supplementing community policing, yet repeatedly accused of abuse, torture, and acting outside the law.
