South East breaking News
Man Recounts his Ordeal in the hand of A man he calls Chief Muscle Uchemadu Odimba, Appeals To the general public and the Government to Save His life.
An Okada rider, Mr Solomon Chinedu Obioha Kalu from Ntalakwu Oboro Ikwuano Abia state …has narrated how he was abducted at gun point at Ntalakwu and taken to Abuja.
Speaking with Newsmen in an interview, Mr Solomon Obioha Kalu. who said, he is Okada rider and runs a canteen, said the event happened in July 15th, 2019.Below are the Excerpts:
Question: Tell us what happened?
It was on the 15th July ,2019, early in the morning, I went to buy drugs for my son that was sick. I was riding my motorcycle, on getting to a lonely place, a vehicle carrying about 5 men, all armed with AK47 blocked me.
They held and handcuffed me, threw me inside their car’s boot and abducted me with my motorcycle inside their car too. The next place I saw myself was at Area command in Umuahia. When they brought me out from the booth of their car, I demanded to know why I was abducted, they said Chief Muscle Uchemadu Odimba sent them to deal with me.
Question: Previously were you having any issue with Chief Muscle Odimba?
Yes, the man had issues with my parents, which led to police and then to court.
In 1997, he had an issue with my parents over his forcefully conversion of a girl I wanted to marry. He took my parents to police over the issue and my parents dragged him to court at Isiala Oboro. He later came and apologized to my parents and Assembly of God church, which is my church. And my parents after much persuasion from people, decided to forgive him, without knowing that he still has evil plans against my family.
Question: What led the AIG zone 9 to Drag the same man to court?
Yes, it was in 21st of January, 2019, he leveled an allegation of stealing against me, which took us to zone 9 police station, Ehimiri Umuahia, and on reaching there, the AIG of police found out that the allegations against me were lies, hence, he asked me to go home. Surprisingly, when I got to my village, after two days, chief Odimba came to my house with few youths threatened to banish me from my community and even boasted that he was not afraid of the AIG of police in zone 9 and I reported their actions to the AIG zone 9.
The AIG zone 9 filed the case in the court of law, we attended the first sitting of the court, before, he still went and arranged gun men to abducted, beat, humiliated and almost killed me in the process. As I am talking to you now, I am serious medication because of the injuries his men inflicted all over my body.
Question: Back to your ordeal during the abduction?
Yes, these men said they were IRT from Abuja Abatoa under Federal SARS. They claimed that they were sent by the presidency at the demand of Chief Muscle Uchemadu Odimba, alleging that I kidnapped someone and collected a Ransome of 100 million Naira, that I was a cultist, that the king gave me gun.
I explained to them that I am only a poor okada man in the village who is making a living with the motorcycle given to me by my traditional Ruler and that my wife runs a small canteen in the village square and that I am innocent of those allegations.
They said, they were hired to deal with me, that I had the gut to challenge a big man in my community.
They kept me at the Area command in Umuahia for 3 days and when my sister came with a lawyer to process my bail from the cell the same men, very early in the morning, whisked me away to Osisioma police station. I was kept there with no food nor water for 3 days, from there, they took to Uyo at Ikotoekpene.
I was put in an underground place, I was there for 4 days, from there, I was taken to Benin, where I was beaten and treated like an armed robber every day. I was kept at Benin for 4 days, before they took me to Ikeja Kirikiri in Lagos state.
Over there ,I was brutally beaten ,tortured and nearly died ,it was one man that gave me bread and water ,and said he did not want me to die there .And I was at the kirikiri for 5 more days .They then took me to Abuja ,along the road ,they said I should run into the bush ,I refused ,because I realized they wanted to shoot me if I had done that.I told them ,that it was better to die in police custody than to be killed inside the bush.
They actually wanted to shoot me dead, if I had made any move to run into the bush.I begged them that I am innocent of their allegations and that my wife had just put to bed and my father’s corpse was still in mortuary .
God touched one of them and he told them not to kill me, the rest of them, said they must kill me there or at Abuja.
Then, we got to Abuja, they continued the beating and flogging me mercilessly. The next morning, they tied me with rope and beat me more. They said I must provide the alleged 100 million Naira, I made from ransom. I told them that I have never seen 5 hundred thousand naira before, not to talk of million.
Question: What happened to your father?
Because of what chief Odimba did to him, he was in coma for days before finally died and the beatings he gave my pregnant wife, made her to bleed for days, if not that she was rushed to UNTH Enugu for medical treatment.
So ,I stayed about 8 more days in Abuja ,one day ,they brought me out and said they wanted to give me food ,I did not want to eat the food, they forced me to eat the food and after that I was returned into the prison and few minutes later , my stomach started painting me ,it took the intervention of one of the prisoners who had anti poison ,he opened my mouth and forced me to swallow the anti-poison, then I collapsed ,those men that abducted me carried me out at the place ,where they bury the dead prisoners ,thinking I was dead .
They invited my IPO and when he came there, he noticed that I was conscious,,he shouted ,” you never die ,it appears your hands are clean ,despite all the things done to you to die ,you refused to die, now look for who will bail you”
I had to call my sister through someone’s phone and they came to Abuja and paid 700 thousand Naira, which those people insisted they must pay before I could be allowed to go home.
When I was released, those people, advised me not to go back to that village, because according to them, the people who want me dead are desperate and can go to any length to waste my life.
So, when I came out, I learnt chief Odimba was celebrating in my community that he had deleted me.
Question: How long did the abduction saga lasted?
I was abducted on 15th July ,2019 and I was released on the 2nd of August,2019.
Question: So, what is the update now?
I have taken him to the law court, because he has been threatening to kill me and I want to appeal to the general public and the government to come to my assistance.
In the same development, the counsel to Mr Solomon Obioha Kalu, Barrister Thed N. Nwaneri, a Portharcourt based legal practitioner, spoke on this issue.
Question: May we meet you?
I am Barrister Thed. N Nwaneri, I based in portharcout.
My client Mr Solomon Obioha Kalu ‘s fundamental rights were abused by Chief Muscle Uchemadu Odimba. We are in court on application for fundamental right action.
His right has been abused. The way and manner this young man was abducted, it took extra efforts by my calling and writing to IG of police before he was located.
Chief Odimba threatened to kill him if he reports the case to police and to banish him from his community, it took the intervention of zone 9 to save his life.
He was abducted, it was after my petition to commissioner of police and IG, before he was released, when the heat was much on him.
He passed through hell and death in the hands of these men, he was treated like a common criminal. The trauma was much, that he went into coma, before regained consciousne
The court of law is the last hope of the common man.I believe he will get justice from the court .thank you.
Efforts to reach to chief Muscle Odimba ,to get his own side of the story failed.