Article written by human rights activist, Inibehe Effiong.
Read below...
For the benefit of those that are still oblivious of
the continued incarceration of Mr. Odudu Ukpanah,
male, 31 (pictured above), an indigene of Ukanafun
Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State and a
B.Sc holder in Geophysics from the University of
Calabar and an M.Sc holder in Oil and Gas
Management from Coventry University, United
Kingdom, on the orders of the Governor of Akwa
Ibom State, Chief Godswill Obot Akpabio JP?, I will
give a brief insight into the case.
Odudu Ukpanah is the only son of the late Engr.
Albert Jimmy Ukpanah that was assassinated on
March 12, 2014 in his residence. The senior
Ukpanah was an outspoken chieftain of the ruling
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Akwa Ibom
State.
Notably, aside being a thorn in the flesh of some
prominent politicians and political office holders in his
area, the late Albert Ukpanah was a vociferous opponent
of the 2015 senatorial ambition of Chief Godswill Obot
Akpabio, the Executive Governor of Akwa Ibom State. He
equally opposed the attempt by the governor to impose a
successor on the state. He supported the 2015
gubernatorial ambition of the erstwhile deputy governor of
the state, Mr. Nsima Ekere instead of the governor's
choice, Udom Emmanuel.
Like several other persons in his area that subscribe to
the PDP zoning policy, he believed that it was the turn of
his area (Abak Federal Constituency) to produce the next
senator to represent the Ikot Ekpene Senatorial District of
Akwa Ibom State in the Senate come 2015. He saw
Akpabio's Senate bid as a grave injustice to his people.
This informed his active involvement in the Abak District
Elders Forum (an organization that was formed to fight for
the political and economic rights of the people of the old
Abak in the state) where he served as the secretary.
On Wednesday March 12, 2014, he was brutally murdered
by dare-devil assassins at his Abak residence at about
9:40pm.
From the cogent, uncontradicted and plausible account
given by the immediate family of the slain politician, the
deceased asked his son, Odudu, who was the only person
with him at the material time to bring three (3) plastic
chairs and a stool for himself and yet to be identified
visitors that he was expecting.
After bringing out the chairs as directed, Odudu went
inside the living room and continued watching the
European Champions League between Manchester City
and Barcelona which he was enjoying prior to the arrival
of the visitors. His father later came into the living room
and took drinks (1 Remy martins and 1 can stout), which
he ostensibly offered his guests. On sensing that the
expected meeting had lasted for too long, Odudu checked
on his father only to meet him lying lifeless in the pool of
his blood.
An investigation into the incident was taken over by the
State Police Command which resulted in the production
of a Police Investigation Report. I have the report with
me. For clarity and benefit of doubt, the opinion/
recommendation part of the Police Investigation Report
dated 25th March, 2014 and signed by the IPO, Sgt. Ibediro
Nnamdi, is reproduced verbatim as follows:
"In view of the above findings, the following suggestions
are proffered. Since investigation into the case is still on,
it is wise to nose around for more information that may
reveal the REAL KILLERS of Hon. (Engr.), Albert Ukpanah,
AS THE KILLING MIGHT BE POLITICALLY MOTIVATED
ASSASSINS.
Above report is for your consideration and further
directive, please" (emphasis mine).
I need to also mention here that in furtherance of
investigation into this case, the police had seized the
GSM phone of the late Albert Ukpanah with an undertaking
that same would be forwarded to the State Security
Service (SSS) for forensic analysis since the deceased is
believed to had communicated on phone with his yet to
be identified guests before their arrival.
Till date, nothing has been heard of the result of the said
forensic analysis by the SSS. Nigerians should ask the
Akwa Ibom State Government, the SSS and the police of
the outcome of the forensic analysis. A check with
service providers would have revealed the call logs of the
deceased shortly before he was murdered.
Instead of identifying the 'REAL KILLERS' of Albert
Ukpanah as recommended by the IPO, the Akwa Ibom
State Government led by Gov. Godswill Akpabio who had
vowed during the burial of the slain politician that he
would "fished out" the "killers" of his friend? went on a
wild goose chase and had his only son, Odudu Ukpanah
framed-up, arrested and charged to court on a trump-up
charge of killing his own father.
Odudu Ukpanah has been in custody since 27th May,
2014. He is presently suffering from an illment which
developed while he was in the United Kingdom for his
masters degree. The condition is such that the prison
authorities had to write to the relevant quarters since
they lack the requisite facilities to cater for his illment.
The hospital that he was rushed to when he collapsed in
the UK had to send a report down here. He also collapsed
in the Ikot Ekpene Medium Prison where he is being held.
His mother and wife of the slain politician is critically
down with cancer, pakinson and stroke.
The three sisters of Odudu, including a lawyer, are close
to a state of bankruptcy owing to the high cost of their
mother's medical care and litigation. Initially, they were so
scared of telling the poor widow that her only son is being
accused of killing her husband. They kept giving her one
excuse or the other over the long absence of her only son
until they exhausted excuses. Ever since the news of her
only son's incarceration was broken to her, her condition
has worsen. Interestingly, the three sisters of Odudu are
currently the most vociferous champions of his
innocence. So why is Gov. Akpabio crying more than the
bereaved? Please why?
I have made spirited efforts to reach out to many of our
human rights crusaders that I have contacts and
relationship with on the need for the Nigerian human
rights community and civil society to rise to the defence
and rescue of Odudu Ukpanah before he dies (God forbid)
in custody but it is so heart breaking that most of our
comrades seems too busy to appreciate the historical
significance and the urgency of this case.
This was the same unfortunate experience that I had
when I took up the #FreeUniuyo44 Campaign, few of us
were left to shout and fight alone. In that case, students
of the University of Uyo had embarked on a very peaceful
protest on June 12, 2013 to ventilate their opposition to
the oppressive policies of the institution's management.
Instead of attending to the grievances of the students, the
management invited anti-riot police men to quell the
peaceful protest. The police fired live bullets which
resulted in the death of a student. This escalated the
protest into burning of the school's properties.
During his visit to the institution, the same Gov. Akpabio
ordered that those who damaged the properties be "fished
out" by the police. The police saw that order as a blank
cheque to swoop on innocent students who were in the off
campus male hostel of the school and on the road. They
arrested Innocent 44 students. The students were
detained for months (some spent up to a year) in prison
over crimes they knew nothing about.
One of them ran mad while the affected parents sold off
all they had to pay lawyers. I led a protests in Uyo and
also in Calabar in partnership with the Joint Action Front
(JAF) demanding that those students be released but the
needed solidarity never came from our seniors in the
struggle. In the end, it took the court to free those
students from captivity.
Now again, our activists are repeating the terrible mistake
of the past, they are closing their eyes to the Odudu
Ukpanah's detention. This case has made me heart
broken. It is as if real, non profit, populist and non
selective activism died with the Late Chief Gani
Fawehinmi, SAN SAM. Lately, I have been wondering if our
hero, Gani, went to the grave with the conscience of the
Nigeria. I shed tears when the news of Gani Fawehinmi 's
death was broken because I foresaw the vacuum that his
death will create in the world of real activism.
The case of Odudu Ukpanah and the ongoing cruel silence
of our activists has made me to cry once again for the
death of 'The Peoples Lawyer'. If Gani Fawehinmi did not
die, I am sure he would have rose to the occasion and
saved Odudu from the clutches of a heartless governor. I
urge all those who profess to be disciples and associates
of Gani to use Odudu’s case to honour his memory. Let
them prove me wrong that true activism did not die with
Gani Fawehinmi.
The time to act is now.
Inibehe Effiong is a Human Rights Activist based in
Lagos, Nigeria and the Convener of the Coalition of
Human Rights Defenders ( COHRD ).

Akpabio has too much blood on his greedy hands

Do these mods think this story is not frontpage worthy? God bless Linda Ikeji for bringing this to her readers' notice multiple times.