In a significant development related to the ongoing political complexities in Rivers State, four individuals previously caught up in the legal aftermath of the State House of Assembly fire have made serious new accusations. Chime Ezebalike, Kenneth Kpasa, Oladele Lukman, and MacPherson Olumini, who were acquitted last November after spending approximately six months in detention, now assert they are facing undue pressure to revise their original testimonies concerning the fire incident.
Specifically, they claim that a prominent figure within the People's Democratic Party (PDP) in the Obio/Akpor Local Government Area has contacted them. The alleged purpose of this contact was to persuade them to falsely name Edison Ehie – who holds the position of Chief of Staff to the state's suspended Governor, Siminalayi Fubara – as the person who orchestrated the assembly fire.
Speaking publicly at a press briefing in Port Harcourt (with three of the four appearing on camera), the men linked this alleged pressure to a wider political strategy. They suggest this effort aims to create a narrative that potentially supports or corroborates prior statements made publicly by George Nwaeke, a former Head of Service.
The individuals emphatically stated their refusal to cooperate with this alleged request, highlighting the severe "trauma" they endured during their previous six-month detention beginning in December 2023. They described their initial ordeal as being framed not only for the assembly fire but also for other grave incidents, including the widely reported murder of DPO Bako Angbashim and an alleged assassination plot against the current Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Martins Amaewhule. Their current stance is that they cannot participate in what they described as a "nefarious plot" after already suffering significant hardship.
These fresh allegations suggest that the political fallout from the assembly fire and related events continues, potentially involving attempts to manipulate accounts of past incidents to influence the current power struggle within the state.
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