Detention: Onitsha traders demand release of it’s chairman, call for IGP’s intervention 

By Cyprian Ebele Onitsha

Traders at Uzomagala street, Onitsha, Anambra State, under the aegis of Elders’ Forum, Friday condemned the continued detention of their chairman, Obiora Okolo, by the Inspector General of Police, IGP’s Special Investigation Unit, (SIU), Abuja, for about a month now.

They urged the IGP, Kayode Egbetokun, to come to their rescue disclosing that the Commander of the said SIU, Moses Jolugbo, (AC) with his Administrative officer, Shulamite Ilodigwe, (SP) and Abiodun Fassasi, have continued to detain suspects beyond the constitutionally stipulated time.

Making the condemnation through their chairman, Mazi Udogadi Ikechukwu, they said that the officers always boast that the IGP is aware of whatever thing they are doing and as such that they are protected.

According to the chairman, “We plead to IGP to look into the continued illegal detention of Okolo, chairman of the traders at Ozomagana street Onitsha, by the SIU Commander, Abuja,  AC Moses Jolugbo and his Admin Officer, SP Shulamite Ilodigwe and Abiodun Fassaasi, these officers have dragged the image of the police to the mud.

“Okolo with two other executive members of the market were bundled by the SIU from Onitsha to Abuja over a plaza building agreement between Modebe Enterprises Ltd, (land owners) and the traders and after some weeks the two executive members were released except the chairman, Okolo.

“We understand he (Okolo), is being held to sign a rewritten agreement that is contrary to the earlier one signed by both parties and that a lady from the Modebe family is behind the new rewritten document for selfish interest.

“We gathered also that the lady is backed up by a retired IGP from Igbo extraction and we believe that such illegality can not work under the watch of IGP Egbetokun who is a good listener that goes for justice no matter whose ox is gored.

“There is no way one who is not part of an agreement will rewrite the agreement when none of the parties involved asked for the rewriting of the agreement. This is just why the chairman of the market, Okolo, is being detained by the trio police officers, to succumb to pressure and they continue to detain him instead of taking him to court.

“We know that unless for the IGP Egbetokun’s intervention, the market chairman will remain in detention until he signs the written document that is in favour of the lady who vowed that she has the power to continue the detention even without taking the chairman to court.

“We plead to the IGP to come to our rescue by ordering the immediate release of the chairman and sanctioning of the trio police officers who claim that they are above the law and can detain suspects as long as they want even in a civil matter,” he pleaded.

“We gathered that the SIU stormed Onitsha on the directive of the lady who we learnt gave the policemen a huge sum of money to effect the arrest and subsequent detention pending the signing of the new document,” he further revealed.