A legal practitioner, Mr. Mustapha Rilwan, Esq., has petitioned the Kaduna State Command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), alleging that officers attached to Patrol Team A assaulted, intimidated, and unlawfully seized his mobile phone during a stop-and-search operation along the Kaduna–Abuja Expressway.
The petition, dated 15 July 2026 and addressed to the State Commander of the NDLEA, Kaduna State Command, was written by the law firm of Muhammad Aliyu Ammani, Esq., Isiyaku Ahmed Danlawan, Esq., Mahmud Sani Kaura, Esq., and Mus’ab Muhammad Sani, Esq., acting as solicitors to Mr. Rilwan.
According to the petition, the incident occurred on 9 July 2026 at about 11:00 a.m., when Mr. Rilwan was travelling from Abuja to Kano in a commercial vehicle to attend a business meeting. The vehicle was reportedly stopped by NDLEA officers at the toll gate on the Kaduna–Abuja Expressway for what was described as a routine search operation.
READ THE FULL PETITION BELOW
15th July, 2026
The State Commander,
National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA),
Kaduna State Command,
Kaduna State.
Dear Sir,
RE: PETITION AGAINST OFFICERS OF PATROL TEAM A ON DUTY ON 9TH JULY 2026, FOR ASSAULT, BATTERY, INTIMIDATION, UNLAWFUL SEIZURE OF PROPERTY, ABUSE OF OFFICE, AND GROSS VIOLATION OF THE FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS OF OUR CLIENT.
We act as Solicitors to Mr. Mustapha Rilwan, Esq. (hereinafter referred to as “Our Client”), on whose behalf and specific instructions we write you this letter as above captioned.
Our Client has informed us, and we verily believe him, that on Thursday, 9th July, 2026, at about 11:00 a.m., he was travelling from Abuja to Kano in a commercial vehicle to attend a scheduled business meeting when the vehicle conveying him was intercepted by officers of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) attached to Patrol Team A at the Toll Gate along the Kaduna–Abuja Expressway during what was represented as a routine stop-and-search operation.
In obedience to the directives of the officers, Our Client and the other passengers alighted from the vehicle to enable the officers conduct their search. While the exercise was ongoing, and after an appreciable delay, Our Client politely enquired about the reason for the prolonged interruption to their journey.
Rather than respond professionally, one of the officers attached to the patrol team, whose identity remains unknown to Our Client, violently descended upon him without the slightest provocation or lawful justification. The unidentified officer forcefully slapped Our Client across the face, pushed him to the ground, and subjected him to physical violence in the full view of fellow officers, passengers, and members of the public.
During the incident, Our Client heard other officers at the scene repeatedly calling the names “Jega” and “Isma’il”. However, owing to the confusion and commotion that accompanied the assault, Our Client is unable to state with certainty whether either of those names belonged to the officer who physically assaulted him. It is for this reason that this Petition is directed against all the officers of Patrol Team A who were on duty at the material time, pending the outcome of your investigation and the identification of the officer directly responsible for the assault.
As a direct consequence of this unlawful assault and battery, Our Client sustained bodily injuries and bruises, his clothes were torn, and he suffered considerable physical pain, humiliation, embarrassment, psychological distress, and emotional trauma.
To aggravate matters, the officers unlawfully seized Our Client’s mobile phone without any lawful authority, thereby depriving him of its use during the incident. Although the phone was eventually returned, its arbitrary seizure constituted an unlawful interference with Our Client’s property and a clear abuse of official power. Furthermore, the officers deliberately and unnecessarily prolonged the stop-and-search exercise without any lawful justification, causing Our Client to miss his scheduled business engagement.
To further intimidate Our Client, the unidentified officer who assaulted him brazenly challenged him to “do whatever he feels like,” a statement plainly intended to convey that the officers considered themselves beyond accountability and above the law.
The actions of the officers of Patrol Team A who participated in, encouraged, condoned, or failed to prevent these unlawful acts constitute assault, battery, intimidation, unlawful seizure of property, abuse of office, and a gross violation of Our Client’s constitutionally guaranteed rights, particularly his right to the dignity of his person guaranteed under Section 34 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended). Such conduct falls far below the standard of discipline, professionalism, restraint, and respect for the rule of law expected of officers of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency.
It is particularly disturbing that the victim of this wholly unjustified brutality is a legal practitioner of good standing, who neither obstructed nor resisted the officers in the lawful discharge of their duties, but merely sought a legitimate explanation for the delay occasioned by the stop-and-search exercise. Our Client is fully aware of his constitutional rights and is firmly resolved to pursue every lawful avenue available to ensure that those responsible are identified and held accountable.
In the circumstances, we respectfully demand that your office:
Cause an immediate, impartial, comprehensive, and transparent investigation into the conduct of all officers attached to Patrol Team A who were on duty during the incident of 9th July, 2026, with a view to identifying the officer who physically assaulted Our Client and every other officer who participated in, condoned, or failed to prevent the unlawful acts complained of.
Ensure that appropriate disciplinary and administrative sanctions are imposed upon every officer found culpable.
Furnish our Chambers with the outcome of the investigation, including the identities of the officers on duty and the disciplinary measures taken, within Seven (7) days of your receipt of this Petition.
Kindly take notice that Our Client has preserved all available evidence and witnesses relating to this incident and expressly reserves all his constitutional rights. Should this Petition not receive the prompt and serious attention it deserves within the stipulated period, we have Our Client’s unequivocal instructions to institute all appropriate legal proceedings without further recourse to your office, including but not limited to an action for the enforcement of his fundamental rights and claims for compensatory, aggravated, and exemplary damages arising from the unlawful assault, battery, intimidation, arbitrary seizure of his property, abuse of office, and every other violation suffered by him.
We trust that your office will treat this Petition with the urgency, seriousness, and impartiality it deserves in order to preserve public confidence in the integrity and professionalism of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency and to demonstrate that no officer of the Agency is above the law.
Kindly accept the assurances of our highest professional regards.
Yours faithfully,
MUHAMMAD ALIYU AMMANI, Esq.
ISIYAKU AHMED DANLAWAN, Esq
MAHMUD SANI KAURA, Esq.
MUS’AB MUHAMMAD SANI, Esq.
Cc:
The Chairman/Chief Executive, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).