Presidential aspirant of the All
Progressives Congress (APC) Rochas Okorocha speaks during the
presidential primary of the party in Lagos on December 11, 2014. Members
of Nigeria's main opposition party voted through the night to choose a
candidate to challenge President Goodluck Jonathan at next year's
elections, with a result expected later on December 11. AFP PHOTO / PIUS
UTOMI EKPEI
Imo
state Governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha has been dragged to court for
allegedly ordering his aides to beat up Anthony Amadi and Chigozie
Oparaku, who were in the Compound of Captain Emmanuel Iheanacho, when
the Governor arrived with a demolition squad that demolished part of
Iheanacho’s compound.
This was just as the victims are asking
the court to award them N50 million in damages for the varying degrees
of injuries that they sustain during the brutal assault by the
Governor’s Aides.
The duo said that their only crime was
that they had brandished an order of the Federal High court, Owerri
restraining the Governor from demolishing Ihenacho’s property, that
rather the governor ordered his security details to beat them up.
According to him, “About an hour later,
the Imo state Governor, Rochas Okorocha in company of his full security
detail came to Captain Ihenacho’s house and the Governor ordered the
engineer to demolish Ihenacho’s house, we then went towards the Governor
as much as the security details would allow us and showed him the court
order, thereupon, the Governor ordered his security details to beat us
up and arrest us,” Amadi narrated.
In an affidavit deposed to by Anthony
Amadi, he said that on the 7th of July, 2016, while at Captain Emmanuel
Ihenacho’s house, they noticed agents of the Imo state government
advancing towards Ihenacho’s house with heavy equipment and with intent
to demolish the property. They approached the engineer in-charge of the
demolition and showed a copy of the restraining order against the said
demolition and the Engineer obeyed and withdrew his equipment.
The victims recalled that they were
beaten for over half an hour by more than 20 security details of the
governor just for daring to show them a restraining order of court
against their illegal action.
“At the end, we could hardly stand or
walk, and they carried us and dumped us at the Shell Camp Police Station
without any medical treatment,” Oparaku they submitted.
Amadi’s left eye still have blood clots
and opens with difficulty while Oparaku has an ugly lump on his back all
sustained after the beating.
They also said that in spite of the fact
that the Imo state Police Commissioner had duly acknowledged a petition
by their Lawyer Amadi Obi against the Imo state Governor,that they were
dumped in the Shell Camp Police cell without treatment.
“Receipt of the petition was
acknowledged the next day, yet the commissioner refused to release us to
seek medical care instead we were transferred from Shell Camp Police
Station to Owerri Area Command at Fire Service.
We were released on the fourth day
without any charge against us. We were only told that we were detained
on the orders of Governor Rochas Okorocha and that was exactly what was
written on the incident board.”
However, the Chief Press Secretary to
the Imo state Governor, Rochas Okorocha, Mr. Sam Onwuemeodo said that
the Governor has not been served with any court summons.
Credit: Sun
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