A 35-year-old woman, Mrs Anulika Nwokike Onyeanusi, has pleaded not guilty to a 14-count charge bordering on alleged sexual abuse and exploitation of her two daughters, aged seven and nine, before the Anambra State High Court’s Children, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Court in Awka.
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The charges include allegations of rape, sexual exploitation, the use of children in pornographic material, and emotional and psychological abuse.
The prosecution alleged that the offences occurred between November 2025 and September 2026 at the defendant’s residence in Akpaka GRA, Onitsha, Anambra State.
When the charges were read to her, Onyeanusi pleaded not guilty to all 14 counts.
The prosecution, led by the Anambra State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Tobechukwu Nweke, SAN, brought the charges under provisions of the Anambra State Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Law, 2017, and the Child’s Rights Law, 2006.
Following her plea, defence counsel Chikodili Nwaka-Ohuoha applied to the court for bail on behalf of the defendant.
Justice Peace Otti subsequently adjourned the matter to November 27, 2026, for ruling on the bail application.
The allegations against Onyeanusi have not been proved, and she is presumed innocent unless and until found guilty by the court.
The prosecution followed an investigation that began after the Anambra State Police Command arrested the defendant on September 10, 2026.
According to the police, officers acted after receiving information about a video circulating online which allegedly showed the sexual abuse of a child.
The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, said the arrest followed intelligence gathered by the command from publicly available information.
During the operation, the police said four children were rescued and items considered relevant to the investigation were recovered.
The police initially gave the ages of the four rescued children as two, three, six and nine. However, the subsequent criminal charges before the court identify two daughters, aged seven and nine, as the children at the centre of the allegations.
The available accounts do not explain the difference between the ages initially released by the police and those contained in the court proceedings. The four children said to have been rescued during the police operation are therefore not necessarily the same as the two children specifically identified as complainants in the 14-count charge.
Police also disclosed during the investigation that the defendant’s husband was questioned to establish whether he had any connection with the alleged offences.
There is, however, no indication in the accounts available that the husband has been charged with any offence in connection with the case.
The police had also said arrangements would be made for the care and protection of the rescued children, while their identities and privacy would be safeguarded because of their ages and the nature of the allegations.
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