Uzoma Mba
Former presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore, has criticised the Nigeria Police Force and the Minister of Works, Engr. David Umahi, over what he described as the illegal arrest, detention and arraignment of a businesswoman, Tracy Nicolas Ohiri.
Sowore, a human rights activist, accused the police of abusing their powers by allegedly turning what he termed a civil dispute into a criminal matter in order to persecute the businesswoman.
According to him, Ohiri had last year accused Umahi of owing her N250 million and also alleged that he made sexual advances towards her several years ago.
Ohiri was reportedly arrested by operatives of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command and brought to Abuja.
There was drama on Thursday at the Wuse 6 Magistrate Court in Abuja, as the defendant and some activists protested her arrest during proceedings.
Speaking on the development, Sowore said: “Tracy Nicolas Ohiri, the businesswoman allegedly unlawfully detained by Nigeria’s Minister of Works, David Umahi, has been taken to a Magistrate Court in Wuse 6, Abuja, as police reportedly plan to remand her in prison.”
In an earlier statement on Wednesday, Sowore said he confronted the minister at the FCT Police Command.
“Today at the FCT Command of the Nigeria Police Force in Abuja, I confronted the Minister of Works, David Umahi, inside a conference room where police operatives had effectively set up shop for him to harass a woman who had accused him of owing her and making a pass at her years ago.
“A married woman, Tracy Nicolas Ohiri, had been illegally arrested in Lagos on allegations of ‘cyberbullying,’ flown to Abuja, and detained,” he said.
Sowore maintained that the allegation against her stemmed from her claim that Umahi owed her N250 million for over 12 years.
“Her alleged offence was accusing David Umahi of owing her N250 million for over 12 years, a claim that, at its core, is a civil dispute,” he stated.
“Rather than treat the matter as such, the police escalated it into a criminal spectacle.”
He further alleged that after her detention, the police facilitated a meeting between Ohiri and the minister at the command headquarters.
“After unlawfully detaining her, the police facilitated a meeting in which Umahi was brought into the command to threaten, intimidate and denigrate her inside a police facility until we arrived, and they immediately dismantled the ‘interview,’ and Umahi left, angry.
“After Umahi left, they refused to grant her bail or release her. We later learnt Umahi promised that she has not seen anything on his way out of the FCT police command,” Sowore alleged.
Efforts to obtain official reaction from the police and the Minister of Works were unsuccessful as of the time of filing this report.
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