Four individuals who were recently acquitted of charges related to the fire incident at the Rivers State House of Assembly have made startling claims.
After enduring over six months in detention at the Kuje Correctional Facility, Abuja, they were acquitted of all charges in November 2024.
Meanwhile, in a press briefing held in Port-Harcourt on Monday, Ezebalike disclosed that they had been approached recently by a prominent leader of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) from Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, who allegedly urged them to change their testimony and name Edison Ehie as the mastermind behind the Assembly fire.
“We were asked to rewrite our story and falsely name Edison Ehie as the mastermind of the Assembly fire,” Ezebalike said, visibly upset.
“This is after everything we have been through. We cannot be part of any nefarious plot, especially not after the trauma we endured.”
The four men claimed that the request was part of a broader political agenda, linking their case to statements made by former Head of Service, George Nwaeke, in Abuja.
They also suggested that the pressure to implicate Ehie was related to other high-profile cases, including the brutal murder of Ahaoda Area DPO, Bako Angbashim, and an alleged assassination attempt on the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Martins Amaewhule.
Recalling their harrowing experience, the men described being arrested in December 2023 under dubious circumstances.
Oladele was arrested on December 5, 2023, followed by Chime and MacPherson on December 16, and Kenneth on January 5, 2024.
They were allegedly blindfolded, detained at the Federal Intelligence Response Team (F-IRT) facility in Port Harcourt, and subjected to torture and coercion, including being denied legal access and forced to sign false confessions.
One of the most disturbing incidents involved a serving member of the Rivers State House of Assembly, who allegedly visited the detainees with a uniformed officer and pressured them to implicate Ehie.
When they refused, they claimed they were subjected to beatings and starvation.
“They tried to break us,” Kpasa said during the briefing.
“When we refused to cooperate, they turned to beatings and starvation.”
Meanwhile, in addition to the physical abuse, the men alleged that a former Local Government Chairman had offered them bribes to implicate Ehie.
The bribe, they said, included ₦200million and an overseas relocation package.
These bribes were reportedly repeated when the men were transferred to detention in Abuja.
Some of the detainees claimed they were promised freedom in exchange for framing Kpasa as an arsonist.
After more than six months of detention, the charges against them were finally dropped in November 2024, and the matter was transferred to the Federal High Court in Port-Harcourt.
However, with their acquittal now final, the men said they were speaking out not just for their own sake, but to expose the lengths to which some political figures would go to manipulate the system for their own gain.
“This country belongs to us all,” Lukman said, addressing the press.
“No one should be tortured or forced to lie for political convenience. We call on civil society, the media, and all justice-loving Nigerians to rise and resist the weaponisation of state institutions against innocent citizens.”
