Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike has recounted how a chieftaincy dispute in his community, led to the arrest and detention of his father, uncle, brothers, and himself on a trumped-up murder charge.
He shared the story in the statement released by his media aide Kelvin Ebiri at the 65th birthday celebration of a senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Emmanuel Ukala.
According to him, he worked at Ukala’s firm after he finished law school, and it took the senior lawyer’s efforts to ensure that his family “got justice”.
He said;
“There was a time that the entire family was charged for murder. Every male was taken away. We only had women left in the house with children between the ages of one and five.
As at that time, I was reading law at the then Rivers State University of Science and Technology, now Rivers State University.”
Going further, Governor Nyesom Wike also narrated how some wicked politicians in his constituency ganged up and planned with the police” to accuse him for armed robbery when he communicated his interest in running for chairman of Obio-Akpor LGA in 1998.
He added that if not for the intervention of Ukala who secured his release, he would have rotted in prison.
Wike went on to state that the SAN also defended him “from the tribunal up to the Supreme Court when some vested interest in the council desperately attempted” to prevent him from being sworn into office as Obio-Akpor council chairman.
“Throughout my chairmanship matter in 1998, when we had election down to April 4, 2000 when Supreme Court finally decided my matter, he (Ukala) never took a dime, one naira.
“Then my governorship election, most people may not believe it, from governorship tribunal down to Supreme Court, he never collected one dime.” He said.
Describing Ukala as a “refined and disciplined lawyer”, the Rivers State Governor praised him for being a “worthy mentor”.
CREDIT: Lindaikejiblog
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