Governor Orji Tackles Activists, Journalists

The rift between Human Rights Justice and Peace Foundation (HRJPF), a human rights group based in Abia state and the government of Chief Theodore Orji in the state deepens by the day.

At the centre of the feud is the group’s allegation that Governor Orji plans to build mosques across the 17 council areas of the state.

Counsel to the organization, Ukpai Ukairo, in a recent petition to the State Commissioner of Police, Edgar Nanakumo, raised an alarm over current threats on the life of Chidi Nwosu, the organization’s President.

The petition entitled: “RE: THREAT TO KILL CHIDI NWOSU, PRESIDENT OF HRJPF”, states: “It is apposite to stress that Chidi Nwosu is the president of our client. He is a known patriot who despises illegality, unconstitutional conducts, corruption, anti-people policies etc. it is his posture on public issues that has now exposed him to the dangerous darts of Sam hart and his paymaster.”

The petition, in particular, pointed out the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Orji, Sam Hart, as Chidi Nwosu‘s assailant, and urged Police Commissioner Nanakumo to promptly intervene in the matter.

“It is an old aphorism that prevention is better than cure. Our client is deeply perturbed about the life of its president. Accordingly, our client urges you to take needed steps to ensure his safety,” the petition notes.

The petition referred to an initial press release which the Chief Press Secretary issued, declaring the preparedness of Theodore Orji government to ‘handle’ Chidi Nwosu.

“It is therefore safe to assume that Comrade Chidi Nwosu is suffering from post-defeat hallucinations which will not cause the government of Abia state unnecessary distractions and embarrassments. We know Chidi Nwosu, we can handle him,” Hart’s press release had declared.

According to the release, Orji’s government extended the same threat to Imo State correspondent of Daily Independent Newspapers, Uche Nwosu thus: ‘On another day and through the appropriate channel, we will address the other issue of the activities of Uche Nwosu, the Imo State correspondent of Daily Independent Newspapers who has made highlighting every concocted bad report on Abia State his job descriptions’.

Prior to the press release by Hart, HRJPF had issued a press statement raising an alarm over alleged plan of Governor Theodore Orji to build mosques in each of the 17 Local Government areas of the state. The statement alleged that the mosque project move ‘is part of the nefarious plans by the Orji-led administration to introduce the controversial Sharia legal system in his ill-fated state‘.

The statement claimed that Governor Orji‘s alleged plan was provoked by his ambition to seek the support of the Islamic world.

“Having lost the support of the vast majority of Abia people, resulting, mainly, from his abysmal failure to judiciously use his people’s resources for their common good, Governor Orji opted to seek the support of the Islamic world by courting them“, the HRJPF release states.

The press statement, which pitted Orji’s government against Chidi and Uche Nwosu of HRJPF and Daily Independent Newspaper respectively, was published on the front page of the Daily Independent Newspapers of Monday, May 4, 2009.

Reacting to Daily Independent‘s story, Orji‘s government contended that all through the body of the said story, there was no single mention of the event at which the governor disclosed his intention to build mosques in each of the 17 local government areas in the state, nor the date the pledge was made.

Debunking completely any intention of the government to build mosques, the government regretted that the insensitivity of publishing such a dangerous story in a religiously volatile country like Nigeria gives cause for serious concern regarding the judgment of the editors of the paper.

Barrister Ukpai Ukairo, as it were, countered the state government, arguing that, by the foregoing, Theodore Orji’s government has not denied her plan to build mosques, but only denied that the exercise would not be carried out in the 17 local government areas.

Ukairo’s argument is premised on the fact that, earlier in the year, Governor Orji announced the decision of his government to renovate, at least, a church in every local government area in the state, a situation, he reasoned, easily explained why the governor resolved to extend the same largesse to Muslims in the state.

It will be recalled that Abia state is top among South-East and South-South states that display magnanimity to their Muslim brothers. The magnanimity came to a head during the reign of Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu, former governor of the state. It was then alleged that Kalu’s generous dispositions towards the northerners was informed by urge to actualize his presidential bid. The former Governor even took chieftaincy titles such as Mai Yakin Katsina.