Four men — Chime Ezebalike, Prince Oladele Lukman, Kenneth Kpasa, and MacPherson Olumini — who were arrested following the fire outbreak at the Rivers State House of Assembly, have come forward with claims of threats and abuse.
Speaking to journalists in Port Harcourt on Saturday, the group revealed that they have faced ongoing threats even after a court cleared them of any wrongdoing. They alleged that those orchestrating the threats are opposed to Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his Chief of Staff, Edison Ehie.
Ezebalike, speaking for the others, explained that they held the press briefing to set the record straight regarding the incident at the Assembly complex. He claimed they were tortured and offered a bribe of N200 million to falsely implicate Ehie in the arson.
“Our only ‘crime’ was refusing to falsely accuse individuals — including the Chief of Staff, Rt. Hon. Edison Ehie — of being responsible for the burning of the Assembly,” Ezebalike stated.
He recounted that from December 5, 2023, to January 16, 2024, they were subjected to arrest, physical abuse, and psychological torture. Despite having committed no offense, he said they were detained and even offered money in exchange for their cooperation.
Ezebalike said three of them — himself, Kenneth, and Oladele — were known associates of Ehie and Hon. Sokari Goodboy, while MacPherson was only caught up due to his proximity. Their ordeal began with the arrest of Oladele on December 5, followed by the violent arrest of Chime and MacPherson on December 16 at Ogbakiri Junction. Kenneth was later seized on January 5 by armed officers in multiple Hilux vans in GRA, Port Harcourt.
They were all reportedly blindfolded and taken to the Federal Intelligence Response Team (F-IRT) office under false accusations that their vehicle was stolen.
