Umahi Orders Prosecution Of New Telegraph Columnist, Dissolves His Media Team
Huride Wants Pmb, Igp, Nhrc And Rights Groups To Call Umahi To Order And Rise For Monday Eze.
The embattled governor of Ebonyi State, Engr. David Umahi, on Thursday, 21st April 2022, ordered the prosecution of his former media aide who is now a columnist with New Telegraph Newspapers, Monday Eze. Governor Umahi handed the order in a pre-banquet media briefing he held in the new Government House, Abakaliki on his return from his trip to Turkey. Even though Umahi did not mention any offence committed by his former aide, the governor in a prelude to the prosecution order complained about an article published by the columnist on the lingering detention of a priest of the Catholic Diocese of Abakaliki, Rev. Fr. Timothy Ngwuta, in Abakaliki prisons. The video clip of the prosecution order is circulating on social media platforms. Governor Umahi equally dissolved his media team for being "reactive" and for their inability to reply his former aide.
In the video clip, the Ebonyi State governor who was visibly unsettled by his former aide's publication entitled, "Timothy Ngwuta: The Universal Church of Christ Is In Ebonyi Prisons" said among other things: "My so-called media team, they are just being reactive. If something is in the social media, why should people be sending texts to me to say this thing. Because if I have media (team), they will be reacting to it and those people who send things to me will be seeing it. But they (media team) are just doing the job within my WhatsApp (platform) and that is why I dissolved all my media people. And I will constitute another one.
"And the Monday Eze must be taken to court. He must be charged to court immediately", Governor Umahi concluded, hitting his fist on his table to convey the seriousness and urgency of his order.
In his reaction, Mr. Monday Eze who had, "pursuant to the dictates of (his) conscience", voluntarily resigned from Umahi's government on April 6, 2021, expressed fears for his life and limb and explained that he has not committed any crime. According to him: "I have not committed any crime to warrant any prosecution. Rev. Fr. Ngwuta's arrest, toture and imprisonment without trial is an open and verifiable fact within public knowledge. Above all, the statement of the Catholic Diocese of Abakaliki on the matter, the comments of the governor and the Attorney-general of Ebonyi State on the matter all corroborated the contents of my essay. Expression of factual opinion on matters of public interest and request for release of an innocent detainee has not been criminalized in Nigeria.
"By the executive order for my prosecution, Umahi has assumed the role of both the accuser, prosecutor and judge in his own matter. Given the antecedents of Governor Umahi who had banned two Ebonyi journalists, Chijioke Agwu and Vincent Okutu, for life and under whose watch the PDP Publicity Secretary in Ebonyi State, Chika Nwoba, was subjected to extra-judicial tortures and life-threatening ordeals, I am afraid for my life, limbs and my family. I am aware that the agents of the state will stop at nothing to ensure that I am docked and sent to custodial centre for committing no offence. I call on the security agents and the courts to resist the temptation or offer of being used to hunt for me or maliciously prosecute or incarcerate me. I call on human rights activists and organizations all over the world and well-meaning citizens of Nigeria to intervene and call Governor Umahi to order ".
In a press release, a rights group, Human Rights Defenders, HURIDE, Ebonyi State has condemned Gov. Umahi's growing intolerance to free speech in Ebonyi State, calling on the Ebonyi governor to rescind threatening the freedom of Mr. Eze. The press statement signed by Comrade Sampson Oko Nweke (State Chairman) and Barr. Prayer Oko (State Secretary), HURIDE urged President Buhari and the Inspector General of Police to call Governor Umahi to order. HURIDE equally wants all rights group to rally support for Monday Eze whose rights are being threatened by Umahi for no justifiable reason.
The former Senior Technical Assistant on Media to Governor Umahi who voluntarily resigned from Umahi's government last year wondered what is unsettling the governor over the essay he published in his column, Hammer and Anvil with Monday Eze, in New Telegraph Newspaper of April 15, 2022.