Fresh waves of outrage have been ignited following reports that former First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, held a clandestine meeting on Friday with top officials of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) in Bayelsa State, even as public pressure mounts over the illegal detention of 15 domestic workers accused of stealing her jewellery — a case that has dragged on without trial for nearly six years.
Sources told SaharaReporters that Mrs. Jonathan hastily flew into Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital, after a series of exposés by the news outlet revealed the deplorable conditions and prolonged incarceration of her former staff at the Okaka Correctional Centre.
“She wasn’t in town before the report went viral. She jetted in immediately after the news broke and summoned key prison officials for a meeting,” a source close to the development disclosed.
According to the insider, Mrs. Jonathan invited the Bayelsa State Controller of Prisons and the Assistant Controller overseeing the Okaka facility to a closed-door session at her luxurious Aridolf Resort in Yenagoa. The highly secretive meeting reportedly lasted until about 5 p.m.
Many fear the meeting may have been orchestrated to stifle further revelations, intimidate prison authorities, or obstruct justice as outrage builds over the detainees’ long and unlawful imprisonment.
The 15 individuals – including both men and women – were arrested in 2019 after the former First Lady alleged that they stole her jewellery. Shockingly, despite no formal charges, no court conviction, and no substantial evidence presented in court, the domestic workers have remained behind bars to this day.
The detainees are: Williams Alami, Vincent Olabiyi, Ebuka Cosmos, John Dashe, Tamunokuro Abaku, Sahabi Lima, Emmanuel Aginwa, Erema Deborah, Precious Kingsley, Tamunosiki Achese, Salomi Wareboka, Sunday Reginald, Boma Oba, Vivian Golden, and Emeka Benson.
In a damning earlier investigation, SaharaReporters published harrowing testimonies of severe and inhumane torture allegedly masterminded and, at times, personally executed by Patience Jonathan herself. According to sources, she had the detainees dragged to her husband’s private residence on Nikton Road in Kpansia, Yenagoa, where she physically brutalised them — often using her high-heeled shoes as weapons.
“She ordered that they be hung, flogged with whips, sticks, and machetes. She was visibly angry and kept yelling that the police weren’t torturing them enough,” a source claimed.
Further allegations indicate that the torture sessions were conducted under the supervision of ASP Collins Otutu, the chief security officer to her husband, former President Goodluck Jonathan. “He often showed up drunk, bringing alcohol for officers like OC Chris and others before they started brutalising us,” one of the detainees wrote in a chilling note.
As this deeply disturbing saga unfolds, human rights groups and concerned citizens are now calling for urgent intervention, justice for the unlawfully detained, and a full investigation into the alleged abuse of power and gross human rights violations surrounding the case.
PIONEER NEWS 