Politics
We’re under pressure to implicate Ehie in Rivers Assembly complex arson, say ex-suspects
Four former suspects in the bombing of the Rivers State House of Assembly complex have sounded the alarm over renewed pressure being mounted on them to falsely rope in the suspended Chief of Staff to the Government House, Edison Ehie, as the mastermind of the attack.
The youths—Chime Ezebalike, Kenneth Kpasa, Prince Oladele Lukman, and MacPherson Olumini—were initially taken into custody and detained for over six months before being discharged by a Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt.
Speaking on behalf of the group in Port Harcourt on Monday, Ezebalike noted that some top members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Rivers State had approached them with offers to change their original statements and implicate Ehie in the incident.
He specifically noted that a PDP leader from Obio/Akpor local government met with them, urging them to align their testimonies with the recent statement made by former Rivers State Head of Service, George Nwaeke, who linked Ehie to the arson.
He stated that : “Even after our ordeal and when we thought we could return to normal life, only a few days ago, one of us was called by a PDP leader in Obio/Akpor, to come and meet with one of their leaders.
“Upon further prodding he said they were reaching out to us to persuade us to re-write our story in order to implicate Edison Ehie as the sponsor or mastermind of the fire incident at the Assembly complex as a follow-up to former Head of Service, George Nwaeke’s press briefing in Abuja.
“This has prompted us to speak out, as we do not want to be part of any nefarious act especially after the torture we faced.”
Ezebalike recalled their ordeals while in detention saying they endured six to eight months of torture in the hands of security agencies and other political actors following the burning of the Assembly complex on 29th October, 2023.
He noted that they were arrested because of their relationship with Ehie confirming that while he, Kenneth and Oladele are known associates of Ehie and Sokari Goodboy, MacPherson was allegedly an unfortunate victim of mere proximity.
He said: “For six to eight months we endured an unjust, harrowing experience in the hands of security agencies and political actors. Our offence was because we refused to frame individuals including the Chief of Staff to the Rivers State Government, Ehie as masterminds of the Rivers State House of Assembly inferno.
“Starting from December 2023 we: Chime Ezebalike, Kenneth Kpasa, Prince Oladele Lukman, and MacPherson Olumini were individually and collectively subjected to arrest, intimidation, physical assault, psychological torture. All of this happened between December 5, 2023, and January 16, 2024.
“At some point, we were offered bribes in exchange for our freedom even though it was clear that we had committed no offence that warranted our being arrested and detained.
“Our ordeal began with the arbitrary arrest of Oladele Lukman on December 5, 2023. On December 16, Chime and MacPherson were violently apprehended at Ogbakiri Junction along the East-West Road while returning from a funeral in Ahoada. On January 5, 2024, Kenneth Kpasa was forcefully taken in GRA, Port Harcourt, by a convoy of no fewer than three Hilux vans.
