By Former Detainees Accuse Authorities of Coercion
Four individuals previously charged with suspected arson at the Rivers State House of Assembly in October 2023 have revealed they were pressured to alter their statements to implicate Edison Ehie, the Chief of Staff to the suspended Governor of Rivers State, Sir Siminalayi Fubara.
The accused—Chime Ezebalike, Kenneth Kpasa, Oladele Lukman, and MacPherson Olumini—were acquitted in November 2024 after spending six months in Kuje Correctional Facility in Abuja. Ezebalike, speaking to journalists in Port Harcourt, claimed they were recently contacted by a prominent PDP leader from Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, who urged them to change their narrative.
Ezebalike described how they were asked to falsely identify Ehie as the mastermind of the fire at the Rivers State Assembly, linking the request to a broader political scheme in the state. He stated, “We were asked to rewrite our story and falsely name Edison Ehie as the mastermind of the Assembly fire. This is after everything we have been through. We cannot be part of any nefarious plot, especially not after the trauma we endured.”
The accused also recalled being framed for several crimes, including the arson at the State Assembly, the murder of SP Bako Angbashim, a DPO in Ahoada, and an alleged assassination attempt on the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Martins Amaewhule. They detailed their six-month ordeal, which began with their arrests under suspicious circumstances between December 2023 and January 2024.
They further accused security agents and political figures of using torture, starvation, and bribery to coerce them into making false confessions. One disturbing incident involved a serving member of the Rivers State House of Assembly, who allegedly visited the detainees and pressured them to implicate Ehie. When they refused, they were reportedly subjected to beatings and starvation.
The detainees also accused a former Local Government Chairman of offering ₦200 million and relocation overseas in exchange for their cooperation. Despite these pressures, the four were eventually acquitted in November 2024, with all charges dropped in a Federal High Court in Port Harcourt.
Now free, the individuals have spoken out, urging citizens and civil society to stand against the abuse of state institutions for political gain. “This country belongs to us all. No one should be tortured or forced to lie for political convenience,” they stated, calling on justice-loving Nigerians to resist such abuses.
