…Its A Case Of Security Threat – Prisons
Obinna Uchendu Abakaliki
Ebonyi based legal Practitioners, one Jerome Elom and Kingsley Ogodo has petitioned the Ebonyi State Police Commissioner, CP Adaku Uche-Anya over alleged brutality of their client, Ekigbo Sampson by armed 4 prison officials from the Abakaliki Correctional Center.
The legal Practitioners alleged that the armed officials attacked Ekigbo causing him severe ear injuries after he was diagnosed and confirmed to have sustained otitis media ear problem.
The duo maintained that the medical report was obtained from the Nigeria Police Medical Department at the State Police headquarters, Abakaliki signed by DSP Uche Okette.
The medical according to the petitioners report further stated following the pains sustained from the slap, Ekigbo was referred to the Alex Ekwueme Federal University Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki for further treatment after receiving first aid.
The petition reads: “on the 26th day of November, 2024 at about 1400 hours, our client while on transit along Hariz Filling station axis of the ever-busy Abakaliki/Enugu Expressway, a tricycle collided with his vehicle.
“Upon the occurrence of the incident, our client packed his car across Hariz filing station and walked into the filing station to sort out how to fix his vehicle with the tricycle driver.
“While waiting for his mechanic, our client was just walking across the filing station when the the prison officials at about 14:27 hours drove in with a Green Hiace Hummer Toyota bus of the Abakaliki Medium Correctional Center and attempted to collude into our client.
“That our client merely asked the driver of Hiace Hummer Toyota bus whether he knows what he is doing and moved on, only for Mr. Pius Nwode to alight from the bus with him arm/gun together with one tall dark officer and aggressively walked to our client and slapped him hard on his right ear, cocked his gun, pointed at our client and retorted aggressively thus ” I will waste you here and nothing will happen.
“Upon hearing this statement with a cocked gun pointed at him, our client was in grate fear for his life as he was uncertain as to next line of action the suspects will take”, the petition said.
When contacted, the State Public Relations Officer of the Abakaliki Medium Correctional Center, Nneka Iyasei accused Mr. Ekigbo of using his vehicle to block officials of the Abakaliki prison conveying inmates to another custodial centre.
She said, our men were conveying inmates to another correctional center and needed to buy fuel at the filling station. There was an urgency to buy fuel as they were conveying inmates, they drove to a pump and Mr. Ekigbo used his vehicle to block the prison vehicle which amount to security risk.
Mr. Ekigbo didn’t stop at that, he started insulting the officers calling them all sorts of names and making calls. Our men asked him to stop making the calls and only push him aside and continued their journey. He was not slapped or beaten by our men. It’s all falsehood.
