Taiwo Popoola
Chime Ezebalike, Prince Oladele Lukman, Kenneth Kpasa and MacPherson Olumini, who were arrested after the Rivers State House of Assembly was burnt down, have alleged threat to their lives.
Speaking to reporters in Port Harcourt on Saturday, the trio said their lives have remained under threat after court discharged and acquitted them.
According to them, those against Governor Siminialayi Fubara and his Chief of Staff, Edison Ehie, were behind the threat.
Ezebalike, who spoke on behalf of others, said they decided to address journalists in the matter to clarify issues surrounding the burning of the assembly complex.
He alleged that they were offered N200 million to implicate Fubara’s Chief of Staff in the matter, stressing that they were tortured by law enforcement agents over their refusal to implicate Edison.
He narrated: “Our offence was because we refused to frame individuals, including the Chief of Staff to the Rivers State Government, Rt. Hon. Edison Ehie, as masterminds behind the Rivers State House of Assembly inferno.
“Starting from December 2023, we, Chime Ezebalike, Kenneth Kpasa, Prince Oladele Lukman, and MacPherson Olumin, were individually and collectively subjected to arrest, intimidation, physical assault, and 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.
“Three of us, Chime, Kenneth, and Oladele, are known associates of Rt. Hon. Ehie Edison and Hon. Sokari Goodboy, while MacPherson was an unfortunate victim of mere proximity. 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. We were blindfolded and taken to the Federal-Intelligence Response Team (F-IRT) unit along the Eastern Bypass in Port Harcourt, under the pretense that the vehicle we were travelling in was stolen.
