We Were Offered ₦200 Million, Relocation Package To Frame Governor Fubara’s CoS” – Four Acquitted Suspects Expose Political Plot

Port Harcourt, Rivers State– Four men who were acquitted of charges related to the fire incident at the Rivers State House of Assembly have come forward with shocking allegations.

They claim they were subjected to intense pressure and coercion to falsely implicate Edison Ehie, the Chief of Staff to the suspended Governor of Rivers State, Siminalayi Fubara.

The men—Chime Ezebalike, Kenneth Kpasa, Oladele Lukman, and MacPherson Olumini—were initially detained in connection with the fire that broke out at the Assembly in December 2023.

After spending over six months in detention at the Kuje Correctional Facility, they were acquitted of all charges in November 2024.

In a press briefing held in Port Harcourt on Monday, Ezebalike revealed that they were approached by a prominent leader of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) from Obio/Akpor Local Government Area.

The leader allegedly urged them to alter their testimonies and falsely accuse Ehie of masterminding the fire.

“We were asked to rewrite our story and falsely name Edison Ehie as the mastermind of the Assembly fire,” Ezebalike said, visibly upset. “This is after everything we have been through. We cannot be part of any nefarious plot, especially not after the trauma we endured.”

The four men linked their experience to a broader political agenda involving high-profile cases, including the murder of Ahaoda Area DPO Bako Angbashim and an alleged assassination attempt on the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Martins Amaewhule.

They suggested that the pressure to implicate Ehie was a politically motivated scheme tied to these incidents.

The men recalled their arrests and the harrowing conditions they endured during detention. Oladele was arrested on December 5, 2023, followed by Chime and MacPherson on December 16, and Kenneth on January 5, 2024.

They were allegedly subjected to torture, including blindfolding, deprivation of legal access, beatings, and coercion to sign false confessions.

Kpasa explained how a serving member of the Rivers State House of Assembly, accompanied by a uniformed officer, visited the detainees, pressuring them to implicate Ehie. When they refused, the men claimed they were subjected to beatings and starvation.

“They tried to break us,” Kpasa said. “When we refused to cooperate, they turned to beatings and starvation.”

The detainees also alleged that a former Local Government Chairman had offered them bribes to implicate Ehie, which included ₦200 million and an overseas relocation package. These offers were reportedly repeated when the men were transferred to detention in Abuja.

After over six months of detention, the charges against the four men were dropped, and the matter was transferred to the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt.

With their acquittal now final, the men say they are speaking out to expose the manipulation and abuse of state institutions for political gain.

“This country belongs to us all,” Lukman said, addressing the press. “No one should be tortured or forced to lie for political convenience. We call on civil society, the media, and all justice-loving Nigerians to rise and resist the weaponization of state institutions against innocent citizens.”