Ogula Ujulu, commissioner of the Gambella region police commission, has been arrested, Ethiopia Insider reported, citing his wife. Aryat Ubang said her husband was arrested on the evening of Thursday, 1 January. Other security officials have also been arrested, according to the report.

Gunshots were heard at the time of the arrests, a resident of Gambella told Ethiopia Insider. Ogula Ujulu was attending a meeting of the Gambella regional council before federal police officers escorted him away and took him to his home, where searches were carried out.

According to his wife, the officers arrived at the commissioner’s residence in the Sidist Kilo area of Gambella town in four four-wheel-drive vehicles. They seized a revolver issued to him by the government. She said no physical harm was done to her husband during the search, but she does not know where he has been taken. The commissioner has been in the post for a year.

The arrest of the high-profile police commissioner comes amid rising tension and unrest in the region. On 22 December 2025, the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission reported that an unknown number of civilians have been killed in conflicts and attacks in Gambella since November. Rising violence and a growing death toll have forced relief agencies to suspend operations. The World Food Programme (WFP), which provides aid to over 400,000 refugees in the region—including new arrivals from Sudan and South Sudan—has temporarily halted food distributions, a spokesperson said.