-Group Calls For Investigation
Despite series of disturbing reports of the magnitude of corruption and other despicable activities perpetuated by the inmates, sometimes, allegedly with the tacit support and collaboration of some unscrupulous staff of the center, the authority that claimed they were not told about the nightmarish experiences of the four occupants of the Nigeria Union of Journalists Imo State Secretariat complex who were sent to prison without trial are yet to either confirm or contradict the allegations.
Commenting on the development which they described as absurd, Imolites For Good Governance IFFG, a human rights organization that strives to hold those in authority accountable said, though, they are not impressed with the revelation they expected the authority to either deny or corroborate the allegations instead of keeping quiet.
The National Coordinator of the group, Comrade Gideon Nnadi, said, the revelation by the Imo NUJ 4 has to a very large extent exposed the rot in the system and what inmates of the Correctional Center are going through. He called on the authority to, as a matter of urgency, set up a committee comprising credible and highly principled persons with zero tolerance for shady practices to investigate the weighty allegations.
Recall that a former inmate of Owerri Correctional Center, Victory Nnadi, in an exclusive interview with Nigeria Watchdog Newspaper threw light on the physical, psychological and emotional trauma some of the inmates are subjected to by their fellow inmates.
Nnadi, one of the four persons that were unlawfully imprisoned by an Owerri Magistrate Court at the instance of an Anglican Priest, Rev Godson Nlemchukwu,who owns Enedo General Services, narrated how he was brutalized and beaten to stupor by inmates of the Owerri Correctional Center for refusing to engage in homosexual activities.
Nnadi and three others, now referred to as Imo NUJ-4 are legal tenants of the Imo NUJ Secretariat complex from where they were arrested and their properties confiscated on the basis of a deceitfully procured Court order.
“He appealed to the state and federal government to set up a commission of inquiry to take a critical look at happenings in the place with a view to addressing the problems holistically to ensure that the facility becomes a Correctional Center that it was meant to be.
Nnadi said, “I was nearly raped at the Owerri Correctional Centre a day after our arrival. At the male cell they asked me to go to the toilet and undress but I refused. They immediately started forcing me and I vehemently refused”.
“They now started beating me and inflicted injuries all over my body. These are my fellow men wanting to have carnal knowledge of me. They said it was a normal thing there but I refused to yield.”
When contacted, the spokesperson for Owerri Correctional Centre, Goodluck Uboegbulam, said he was not aware that such an act occurs at the facility.
He blamed the victim for not reporting the crime to the prison facility, adding that authorities of the Correctional Centre have zero tolerance for such acts.
They called for the arrest of Rev Godson Nlemchukwu and the Chief Bailiff of the Magistrate court, Mr Onyekachi Uba for deceiving the court, which led to their unwarranted imprisonment and confiscation of their properties.
