In a shocking revelation, four men acquitted of charges related to the fire incident at the Rivers State House of Assembly have come forward with allegations of intense pressure and coercion to falsely implicate Edison Ehie, the Chief of Staff to suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara. The men—Chime Ezebalike, Kenneth Kpasa, Oladele Lukman, and MacPherson Olumini—were initially detained in connection with the fire that broke out at the Assembly in December 2023.
The four men recalled their arrests and the harrowing conditions they endured during detention. Oladele was arrested on December 5, 2023, followed by Chime and MacPherson on December 16, and Kenneth on January 5, 2024. They alleged they were subjected to torture, including blindfolding, deprivation of legal access, beatings, and coercion to sign false confessions.
Ezebalike revealed that a prominent leader of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) from Obio/Akpor Local Government Area approached them, urging them to alter their testimonies and falsely accuse Ehie of masterminding the fire. “We were asked to rewrite our story and falsely name Edison Ehie as the mastermind of the Assembly fire,” Ezebalike said, visibly upset.
The detainees alleged that a former Local Government Chairman offered them bribes to implicate Ehie, which included ₦200 million and an overseas relocation package. These offers were reportedly repeated when the men were transferred to detention in Abuja. Kpasa explained how a serving member of the Rivers State House of Assembly, accompanied by a uniformed officer, visited the detainees, pressuring them to implicate Ehie.
When the men refused to cooperate, they claimed they were subjected to beatings and starvation. “They tried to break us,” Kpasa said. “When we refused to cooperate, they turned to beatings and starvation.”
After over six months of detention, the charges against the four men were dropped, and the matter was transferred to the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt. With their acquittal now final, the men say they are speaking out to expose the manipulation and abuse of state institutions for political 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 weaponization of state institutions against innocent citizens.”
The men’s experience is linked to a broader political agenda involving high-profile cases, including the murder of Ahaoda Area DPO Bako Angbashim and an alleged assassination attempt on the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Martins Amaewhule. They suggested that the pressure to implicate Ehie was a politically motivated scheme tied to these incidents.
The acquittal of the four men has brought to light the alleged manipulation and abuse of state institutions for political gain. Their courageous decision to speak out serves as a call to action for justice-loving Nigerians to resist the weaponization of state institutions against innocent citizens. As the nation grapples with the implications of this revelation, one thing is clear: the fight for justice and accountability must continue.
