The Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, has denied using police officers to intimidate or pursue a woman who says he owes her money, saying the matter is before investigators.
Umahi’s media office said that the video circulating online which showed rights activist Omoyele Sowore confronting the minister at the Federal Capital Territory Police Command over the dispute misrepresents the facts.
In a statement signed by his media aide, Francis Nwaze, Umahi said the police acted on a petition from his lawyer and not because he ordered them to arrest the woman.
The statement added that officers acted “within their constitutional mandate to maintain law and order and investigate complaints.”
Umahi’s team described the woman’s claims as “inconsistent, contradictory, and lacking coherence.”
But activist Mr. Sowore, in a video shared on social media, said the woman — identified as Mrs. TracyNither Nicolas Ohiri — was arrested in Lagos on allegations of cyberbullying after making public claims that Umahi owes her ₦250 million for campaign work from more than a decade ago.
He said she was flown to Abuja and remains in custody.
Sowore called the use of police in the case “an abuse of power” and said the dispute should have been handled as a civil matter, not a criminal case.
Ohiri has also reportedly alleged that Umahi made unwanted advances toward her in the past, a claim that has drawn public attention.
Umahi’s statement says he was invited by the police for questioning after the petition, and that the matter will continue under investigation.
No official police statement has been released yet.
