AWKA, ANAMBRA STATE — In a dramatic courtroom scene that ended in gunfire and a desperate foot chase, an Anambra State Magistrate Court sitting in Amawbia has remanded a sitting member of the State House of Assembly, Hon. Bernard Udemezue, to the Awka Correctional Centre over charges of rape, battery, and violent intimidation.
Udemezue, who represents Ayamelum Constituency under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), was arraigned before Magistrate Onochie at the Special Court on Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) under case file number MAN/CSGB/97/c/2026.
The Ambush, the Job Offer, and the Assault
According to investigative documents and competent sources, the harrowing ordeal began on May 26, 2026, when Udemezue encountered the 24-year-old victim, a professional chef from Enugu State, in Awka. Dangling the promise of a lucrative employment opportunity, the lawmaker secured her contact information.
Days later, following a brief meeting at a local restaurant, the lawmaker allegedly overrode the victim’s explicit requests to be taken home. Instead, he forced her to his private residence, where he subjected her to a brutal sexual assault.
When the victim resisted, Udemezue reportedly inflicted severe physical violence, leaving her face heavily bruised and swollen. Before releasing her, the lawmaker allegedly handed her cash to buy medication and issued severe threats to “deal with her” if she disclosed the assault to her family or the public. Defying the intimidation, the bruised victim went directly from the lawmaker’s residence to the police station to lodge a formal complaint.
Fleeing to Abuja and a Dramatic Arrest
Following the initial report, the Nigeria Police Force extended multiple official invitations to the lawmaker. Rather than honoring the summons, Hon. Udemezue fled Anambra State, taking up a covert refuge in Abuja and forcing security agencies to declare him wanted.
His run from the law ended abruptly on Tuesday, November 3, 2026. Slipping back into Awka under the cover of launching his upcoming re-election campaign for the Ayamelum legislative seat, Udemezue was spotted by eagle-eyed operatives as he attempted to escape the state capital once more. He was swiftly intercepted, arrested, and detained overnight before his immediate arraignment.
Tears in Court, Electronic Evidence, and a Failed Escape
Appearing in court dressed in black joggers and a white t-shirt, and flanked by a legal team of three defense attorneys, a weeping Udemezue strenuously denied the rape charges. He claimed the sexual encounter was entirely consensual, loudly alleging that the case was a political witch-hunt orchestrated by his adversaries to derail his 2027 political ambitions.
However, the victim, who was present in the courtroom, directly confronted the lawmaker’s defense. She produced her mobile phone as evidence, presenting a trail of threatening messages sent by Udemezue following the assault.
Faced with the evidence and the severe nature of the SGBV charges, Magistrate Onochie denied the lawmaker’s bail application and ordered his immediate remand at the correctional center.
The announcement of the remand order triggered a chaotic breakdown of security within the court premises. In a desperate bid to evade jail, Hon. Udemezue violently shoved court officials and police guards aside, bolted out of the courtroom, and ran into the surrounding neighborhood.
“He pushed us and ran away from the court all the way to St. Paul’s Anglican Church before he was caught,” an eyewitness told reporters. “He was running inside the bushes, and the police were shooting live ammunition into the air while everyone was hiding in fear.”
Following the intense tactical pursuit through the brush, heavily armed police operatives re-arrested the fleeing lawmaker, bound him, and successfully transported him under maximum security to the Awka Correctional Centre.
