In a sensational twist to the lingering political crisis in Rivers State, four men recently acquitted of arson charges related to the 2023 fire outbreak at the Rivers State House of Assembly have made explosive revelations, alleging that they were offered a mouth-watering ₦200 million and an overseas relocation package to falsely implicate Edison Ehie, the Chief of Staff to Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
The men – Chime Ezebalike, Kenneth Kpasa, Oladele Lukman, and MacPherson Olumini – who spent over six harrowing months at the Kuje Correctional Facility in Abuja, told reporters in Port Harcourt on Monday that powerful political interests attempted to coerce them into becoming pawns in a grand scheme to smear Ehie.
“We were asked to rewrite our story and name Edison Ehie as the mastermind of the Assembly fire,” Ezebalike recounted with visible anger. “After everything we’ve endured, we refuse to be part of such a despicable conspiracy. Our integrity is not for sale.”
The accused revealed that the offer was made by a prominent leader of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from the Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, indicating that the move was part of a wider political witch-hunt aimed at undermining Governor Fubara’s inner circle.
The attempt to manipulate their testimony, they claim, ties into a disturbing pattern of politicised persecution and manufactured narratives. The suspects linked the scheme to other high-profile incidents, including the assassination of Ahoada DPO Bako Angbashim and an alleged attempt on the life of Speaker Martins Amaewhule – all part of a broader web of power struggles in Rivers State.
The four men were arrested under what they describe as “highly suspicious and clandestine circumstances.” Oladele was picked up on December 5, 2023, followed by Chime and MacPherson on December 16, and finally Kenneth on January 5, 2024. They allege that they were blindfolded, transported to the Federal Intelligence Response Team (F-IRT) facility in Port Harcourt, and subjected to psychological torture, physical abuse, and total denial of legal representation.
“They tried to break us,” Kpasa said. “When we refused to lie, they turned to beatings and starvation. It was a nightmare.”
In one of the most chilling accounts, a serving member of the Rivers State House of Assembly allegedly visited the detainees with a uniformed security officer, attempting to strong-arm them into implicating Ehie.
“When we stood our ground, the retaliation was brutal,” Olumini added. “We were dehumanised, devalued, and treated like disposable tools in a political game.”
The men claim that when intimidation failed, bribery followed. A former local government chairman allegedly offered them ₦200 million and an overseas relocation deal to change their testimony. When that also failed, the detainees were promised freedom if they agreed to pin the arson on one of their own, Kenneth Kpasa.
“They dangled money, promises, and threats before us – all to force a lie into the public domain,” Lukman said. “But we are not just fighting for ourselves. We are fighting for truth, justice, and every Nigerian who has been silenced or scapegoated by the system.”
In November 2024, all charges against the men were dropped and the matter transferred to the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt. Their acquittal marks a legal vindication – but the battle, they insist, is far from over.
The men are now demanding accountability and urging Nigerians to rise against what they describe as the weaponisation of state institutions for political vendettas.
“This country belongs to us all,” Lukman declared. “No citizen should be tortured, bribed, or manipulated into falsehood just to satisfy political egos. We call on civil society, the media, and justice-loving Nigerians to say enough is enough.”
Their revelations, if substantiated, could have far-reaching implications – not just for Rivers State politics, but for the integrity of Nigeria’s democratic institutions and justice system.
The question now remains: Will justice be done – or buried beneath the weight of political ambition?
PIONEER NEWS 