The Obosi community of Anambra State has written an open letter to Nigeria’s Inspector-General of Police over the continuous detention of her son, Mr. Ndu and two other women in connection with the killing of the former head of nursing, Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Enugu, Dr. Mrs. Maria Amadi.
Also copied in the petition are Governors Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi and Willie Obiano of Enugu and Anambra, respectively, the National Judicial Council, NJC, among others.
DAILY POST reports that Mr. Ndu and two others, Mrs. Buzo Maduka and Mrs. Stella achara are colleagues of the late nurse at the Federal Government-owned health institution.
At the last proceeding on the case, counsel to Mr. Ndu had told the court to quash the charges against him on the grounds that there was no evidence linking him with the said crime, adding that the real culprits had since been arrested and that they made confessional statements to the police.
However, the community alleged that though three self-confessed killers of the deceased had been arrested, the police were foot-dragging on charging them to court.
Irked by the development, the Obosi community has now come out to say that Mr. Ndu’s ordeal was politically motivated in continuation of moves to get their son out of the way as the Vice Principal of the School of Nursing in the said hospital.
In the statement dated August 15, obtained by our correspondent on Monday, signed by the President of Obosi Development Union, Prof. Nnamdi Onyire and the Secretary, Kene Ochokwu, they sympathized with the bereaved family, as well as the Aku General Assembly over Mrs. Amadi’s death.
They, however, said “we make bold to discredit and debunk intoto the empty propaganda of deliberate falsehood and blackmail contrived, sponsored and foisted by a faction of the staff of the Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Enugu that is opposed to the position of our son and that of one Mrs. Ruth Buzo Maduka as the Vice Principal and Principal of the School of Nursing, and who have in the past authored and prosecuted similar campaigns of false blackmail that led to the temporal suspension of our son and Mrs. Maduka on two different occasions but they were later recalled to their positions by the Hospital Board and ministry of health.”
They said those opposed to their son, while operating under disguised identities were misleading and deceiving both the husband to the deceased, the Aku General Assembly, the State Police Commissioner and the Executive Governor of Enugu State and by extension the court “to detain our son and the principal of the school as the murderers of the deceased as a means of perfecting their agenda.
“Today, they have not only largely succeeded in ensuring the continued incaceration of our son and the principal of the school in prison away from their respective offices as planned but they have also succeeded in replacing our son Mr. Ndu and Mrs. Buzo Ruth Maduka with one Mr. Alphonsus Mba and one Mrs. Stella Agbo, a native of Orba in Nsukka.”
They identified the following staff of the hospital as those allegedly behind the ordeal of their son: Dr. Ubochi Vincent N., Dr. Unaogu Nnenna Ngozi, Dr. Acho Justina U., Dr. Ugwuonye Onyekachi K., Dr. Andrew Orovwigho,w ho are facing defamation law suite at the Enugu high Court before Justice egumgbe Paul Ugwu and some nurses from Nsukka- Eric Ugwu, Mrs. Abaratu, Mr. Pat Odoh and Mrs. Omenogha.
“Our investigations revealed that these brigade of forces are the protagonists of the long-drawn titanic battle and war against the positions of our son and Mr. Ruth Buzo Maduka and that they capitalized on the tragic incident of the death of Dr. Maria Amadi, a staff of the hospital to lunch this latest attempt to exterminate our son and his principal as their target enemies.
“Our investigations equally revealed how this group conspired and met with the DPO Trans-Ekulu Police Division to prevail on the husband to the deceased to add to his second statement to the police that the deceased made statements to the nurses, the doctor and the policewoman present with her at the emergency ward of the Parklane Hospital, Enugu, that she was killed by our son and Mrs. Buzo Ruth Maduka.”
The community said it clearly observed that all the nurses who were present when the deceased made the alleged statement as well as the doctor on duty at the emergency unit of the Parklane Hospital on that day in their respective and separate statements to the police emphatically denied that the deceased made any statement saying that Afam and Ruth killed her.
“As if that was not enough, even the policewoman, Inspector Jacinta Onyia in her own statement re-echoed exactly the same statement of the nurses,” the petition added.
They said they were aware that the police later carried out further investigation leading to the arrest of the real culprits.
“A special crime-buster team of the Police Command was able to track and crack down on three of the boys who are members of the killer gang that attacked and killed Mrs. Amadi.
“One of them openly confessed to the fact of his involvement in the killing of the deceased and named three other members of his gang.
“We are, therefore, constrained to appeal to and implore all stakeholders in this case both the police in the State, the Federal SARS office of the Nigeria Police Force, the office of the DPP and the Governor of the State to please in the interest of justice sheath their sword and allow justice to be served in this case so that all the innocent detainees in this case, made up of our son, Mr. Ndu and the other two female staff, who are mothers and grandmothers, can at least enjoy their entitlement to bail.
“We also call on the Nigeria Police to quickly conclude the investigation in the case of the three self-confessed killers of the deceased and arraign them in court to face the wrath of the law.
“What we owe the spirit of the deceased and even the Governor of the State is that we assist to ensure that the gang who killed her and have confessed to the crime are diligently prosecuted.
“We make bold to affirm that by this statement and position paper on this matter, we cannot continue to stand by and watch this obnoxious propaganda as those who are opposed to his official position in his place of work continue to reign over the truth in this case to the detriment of our son who has not only been a scapegoat but also displaced from his official position that is the main bone of contention between him and the opposing forces of the gang of doctors who are co-staff of the hospital, that are in court with over similar unfounded defamatory propaganda against him in the same hospital as injustice to one is injustice to all.
“Enough of all these distractions and let us henceforth say no to the power play of interests in this case through deliberate propaganda and join hands with the Governor to rid Enugu State of criminal elements.”