Secrets Reporters Journalist Allegedly Abducted Amidst CBN DG Emem Usoro Investigation

The Nigeria Police Force and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) are currently facing intense scrutiny following claims of the alleged abduction of Secrets Reporters journalist, Stanley Ugagbe. The incident reportedly involved security operatives acting under the directives of Ms. Emem Nnanna Etuk Usoro, the CBN's Deputy Governor for Operations.

Fejiro Oliver, the publisher of Secrets Reporters, publicly leveled these accusations on Thursday, asserting that the police unlawfully seized Ugagbe. According to Oliver, the journalist was taken by armed individuals shortly after attending a training program sponsored by his media organization. Oliver stated, “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 further revealed that Ugagbe was apprehended on Wednesday upon his return 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 added. The publisher expressed grave concerns that the circumstances surrounding the operation pointed to potential abuses of power, intimidation of journalists, and possible extrajudicial actions.

It was reported that the armed men, who allegedly stormed Ugagbe’s residence after his initial seizure, carried Israeli-made Tavor rifles. They reportedly forced their way into his home to confiscate his official phone and laptop. Oliver recounted, “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.”

Upon receiving the complaint, Tosin Ajayi, the Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS), also known as the State Security Service (SSS), reportedly responded swiftly. Oliver noted, “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.”

Oliver further claimed that the DSS boss immediately ordered inquiries to be made with the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) command to ascertain if any of their personnel were involved. “DG immediately asked them to call the FCT command to ask about such arrest and that he will get back to me,” he stated. Approximately an hour later, the FCT command director, identified as Dauda Esq, reportedly contacted Oliver 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,” Oliver confirmed.

Oliver expressed his belief that the DSS leadership had distanced itself from using cybercrime allegations to target journalists, citing his personal knowledge of previous refusals by the agency to participate in such actions. He alleged, “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.”

Further investigations, Oliver claimed, indicated 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 demonstrating little concern regarding the incident. He alleged, “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.”

Efforts to locate the journalist across various detention facilities in Abuja have so far been unsuccessful, according to Oliver. “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 police action to kidnapping, accusing the force of neglecting its constitutional duties amidst worsening insecurity nationwide. “In a time where kidnappers and bandits are kidnapping innocent citizens, the Nigerian Police has turned to kidnappers too,” Oliver asserted. He added, “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.”

Oliver issued a stern warning that the alleged disappearance of the journalist could be a precursor to an 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, demanding, “The Police should immediately release Stanley or charge him to court.”

This development follows an investigative report published by Secrets Reporters on January 29, 2026, which detailed explosive allegations concerning the personal life of CBN Deputy Governor Emem Nnanna Usoro. The publication claimed to have obtained judicial documents from the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, exposing 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, Suit No: FCT/HC/PET/251/2019. This case reportedly stemmed from a cross-petition initiated by Mrs. Grace Wesley against her late husband, Mr. Edirin Jerry Wesley, on grounds of adultery and desertion. The legal filings, as cited by Secrets Reporters, accused Usoro, who was then a top executive at United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, of engaging in an intimate relationship with Mr. Wesley while he was still legally married.

The court documents reportedly alleged that Mrs. Wesley claimed Usoro knowingly entered into a relationship with her husband despite being fully aware of his existing marriage. Furthermore, the filings allegedly stated that children were born from this relationship during the subsistence of the statutory marriage. Mrs. Wesley, according to the report, sought the court’s dissolution of the marriage, citing its irretrievable breakdown due to continuous adultery and desertion. The court papers also requested damages against Usoro and an order restraining her from presenting herself as Mr. Wesley’s lawful wife. Additionally, the Secrets Reporters investigation claimed to link the senior CBN official to the ownership of two properties in the United States, valued at over N4 billion.