Months after being cleared of arson charges linked to the 2023 fire at the Rivers State House of Assembly, four former detainees are now raising disturbing new claims — alleging attempts to coerce them into falsely implicating Edison Ehie, the Chief of Staff to suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
The men — Chime Ezebalike, Kenneth Kpasa, Oladele Lukman, and MacPherson Olumini — who spent over six months in detention at the Kuje Correctional Facility before being acquitted in November 2024, addressed the press on Monday in Port Harcourt, detailing what they described as ongoing pressure from political figures to “rewrite” their stories.
According to Ezebalike, one of the four who spoke during the briefing, a top-ranking member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from Obio/Akpor LGA recently approached them with a startling request: recant their earlier statements and instead name Edison Ehie as the mastermind behind the Assembly fire.
“We were asked to change our statements, to falsely accuse Edison Ehie,” Ezebalike said. “But after all we’ve suffered — the beatings, the starvation, the isolation — we won’t be used in anyone’s political game.”
Three of the four men appeared on camera, while all jointly condemned what they say is a calculated attempt to manipulate the justice system for political vendettas.
Their allegations come on the heels of a press conference held by former Head of Service, George Nwaeke, in which he linked Ehie to the Assembly fire.
The ex-detainees now claim they were being recruited to support Nwaeke’s narrative — a narrative they insist is false.
Their nightmare, they said, began in December 2023, when Oladele Lukman was arrested on the 5th.
Chime Ezebalike and MacPherson Olumini followed on December 16, while Kenneth Kpasa was picked up on January 5, 2024.
Blindfolded and transported to the Federal Intelligence Response Team (F-IRT) facility in Port Harcourt, the men allege they were denied legal counsel, subjected to physical abuse, and coerced into signing pre-written confessions.
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In one particularly chilling account, a sitting lawmaker reportedly visited them with a police officer, demanding they name Ehie. When they resisted, they say, they were beaten and deprived of food.
“They even brought money,” one said. “We were offered ₦200 million, promises of relocation abroad, all to make us say what they wanted.”
They allege that during their time in custody, one detainee was promised immediate release if he identified Kenneth Kpasa as an arsonist.
Their case was eventually moved to the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt, where the charges were dropped in November.
Now free, the men say they’re speaking up not just for themselves but for other Nigerians who may be facing similar injustices.
“This country belongs to all of us,” they said. “No one should be tortured or forced to lie in the name of politics.”
They are urging civil society groups, the media, and the international community to scrutinize the alleged abuse of state power, and to ensure that justice is not bent by political interests.
Their revelations add yet another layer to the deepening political crisis in Rivers State, where power struggles continue to rattle the state’s leadership and legal institutions.