Police operatives in Lagos State have detained the father of a young woman in a bid to enforce what lawyers described as an alleged illegal contract.
The father, Mr. Kazeem Raji, 60, is currently being held at the State Intelligence Department, SID, Ikeja. His detention followed Police efforts to use him to recover money from an alleged transaction involving the trading of Naira notes.
According to documents made available to
P.M.EXPRESS, the case involved Miss Zainab Raji and one Amarachi Nnamani, who allegedly approached Zainab to participate in a business arrangement involving the buying and selling of Naira notes.
The documents stated that Amarachi gave Zainab the sum of N9,000,000 to trade and instructed her to remit N450,000 weekly from the proceeds. Lawyers for Zainab alleged that Amarachi later collected a substantial portion of the N9 million back, but then added interest on the outstanding balance to about N40,000,000 before petitioning the Police.
The transaction, if proven, violates Section 21(4) of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act, 2007, which criminalizes the hawking, selling or trading of Naira notes.
Zainab was said to have been arrested and detained for 3 days between May 11 and May 13, 2026. Her lawyers alleged that 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.
Due to illness, Zainab could not honour a subsequent invitation. Her father, Mr. Kazeem Raji, voluntarily went to FESTAC Police Station to explain her absence. He was arrested instead and later transferred to the State Intelligence Department, SID, Ikeja, where he has been detained for 5 days.
In a bail application dated August 21, 2026, addressed to the Officer in Charge, SID, lawyers from Ayandoyin Akanke Chambers argued that Mr. Raji is not named in the petition and is not a suspect. They cited Section 4 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law, Lagos 2021, and Section 35 of the 1999 Constitution, saying his detention in place of his daughter is unlawful.
In a separate petition dated August 13, 2026, to the Assistant Inspector-General of Police, FCID Alagbon, the lawyers asked for the case to be transferred from FESTAC Police Station to FCID for an independent investigation. They also asked that Amarachi be invited for questioning over her alleged role in initiating and funding the illegal transaction.
The petition further alleged that the Police are being used as a debt recovery tool to enforce money from a transaction prohibited by law. It also raised concerns about Zainab’s deteriorating mental health following her detention.
The lawyers listed 7 prayers including the transfer of the case to FCID Alagbon, investigation of all parties involved, probe into the alleged N220,000 payment, and the immediate release of Zainab’s father on administrative bail.
As of the time of filing this report, Zainab Raji is recuperating from her hospital bed. Her father remained detained at the State Command.
When P.M.EXPRESS contacted the Police at SID, they confirmed that Mr. Raji was in custody to produce his daughter who stood on bail.
The Lagos State Police Command is yet to issue an official statement on the matter.