Uche Nwosu, son-in-law to a former Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, has narrated how he was forcibly arrested by security operatives during a church service at his hometown, Eziama Obieri in the Nkwerre Local Government Area of Imo State.
Speaking with journalists on Tuesday morning, Nwosu alleged that the arrest was simply a calculated attempt by the Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodinma, to humiliate him.
He refused claims that he was arrested in a church because he had failed to honour many police invitations extended to him.
He further condemned the manner of the arrest as he alleged that the security operatives climbed the altar with a gun and shot sporadically at no one in particular.”
According to him, “they desecrated the altar of God.”
While appreciating the Inspector-General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba for his professionalism, Nwosu urged the police boss to launch an investigation into the identities of those who arrested him and who shared the photos of him on social media.
He said, “I want to thank God Almighty who spared the life of my wife, my mother-in-law, myself and more especially the lives of church members including the parish priest who was in the church. It would have been a different thing altogether, it would have been the death of many people within and outside the church.
“I thank the Inspector-General of Police who through his professionalism, he acted like a professional police. Ladies and Gentlemen, I want to narrate what exactly happened on the 26th of December, 2021. You all know that I buried my mom on the 22nd of December and on the 26th, we came for outing service and around 11am while the service was still going on.
“Some military men were sighted outside, I asked my PA, maybe it was one of the VIPs that came for the church service of my mom and I asked them to bring in anyone; before they could come back, I saw masked police officers, there was nothing to show that they were policemen; more than 15 of them came into the church premises and corked their gun and asked me to move, one of them asked me to move immediately, before I could even ask what the problem was, one of them climbed the altar and corked the gun at me.
“I said what was the problem; one dragged me and before you knew it, they started shooting, they shot and everyone was running helter-skelter, church members, parish priests, and then the officers dragged me like a criminal and brought me out.
“When they brought me out, my orderly was trying to ask where they came from, they didn’t even say anything. They were all masked, nothing to show that they’re officers, apart from the vehicles that brought them that showed the vehicles came from the government house. They dragged me, pushed me into a white van, and asked me to lie on the floor, one of them put his leg on me and asked me to keep quiet, took my picture.
”On the way, they stopped, one of them wearing masks asked me to go down, he corked his gun, I thought I was to be eliminated at that point, I asked him what have I done? He dragged me and pushed me inside a Ford they sped on to Owerri, when we got to Okigwe road, at government house, I was looking at the back, the remaining three vehicles diverted into government house, the one I was inside continued on to Okigwe road, I asked where were we going, they said I shouldn’t talk.
“When we set to go to Enugu, I said tell me if I was going to be killed, they didn’t say anything, on the road, one of them received a call and I saw the name on that call, it was Shaba, and he told him in Hausa that they had caught me and they were on the way, I spoke Hausa to them asking them what I had done.
“They didn’t answer me. They took me all the way from Owerri to Enugu and asked me to remove my clothes, I said why? They said I had to cooperate because it’s an order they have to obey, they removed my clothes, handcuffed me and took a picture of me, and sent it to Shaba, then later, they did a video of me and sent it to the same Shaba who is the CSO to the governor of Imo State. At this point, I said what had I done, if you’d invited me, I would have come.
“When we got to Enugu, we stayed at Enugu Airport for more than one hour, thirty minutes, they kept communicating with someone coming with the flight and with Shaba, they were speaking in Hausa.
“At this point, I committed my life to God and when the flight landed, I was asked to come down from the car and they took me to a waiting private jet. When we got inside the private jet, the officer told me there’s a petition against me and I said okay, is that why I should be humiliated.
“There was no invitation, I was arrested as a common criminal; if there was an invitation I could have come. When we got to Abuja, I was taken to the STS office, at that point, IG intervened and sent someone.
“With what happened, I think the IGP was not properly informed. All this drama happened inside Imo State government house. All the security men that came for this operation were security men attached to the governor of Imo State, all of them masked, there was nothing to identify them, they came with a Ford jeep, that is part of governors convoy, desecrated the house of God, even when I told them I came for my mom’s church service, they didn’t listen.
“I thank God because I don’t think their intention was to arrest me, it was to humiliate me, if it was to arrest me, I know police procedures. It is not the duty of security operatives attached to the governor of Imo State to arrest or interview; it is the duty of the Commissioner of Police.
“What happened was a calculated attempt to humiliate me; I thank God that I’m alive. I want to thank the Almighty God, the media for coming out. When they saw that the thing had gone viral when we got to Owerri, they had to find another way to take me to Abuja. The flight came after one hour.
“The question I want to ask is who authorised that my picture in a handcuff be sent to the media, I know the IGP will not allow this. I plead with the IGP to find out who shared my picture on social media, who paid for the private jet and who are these men who invaded the church of God?”
