The Chief of Staff to the Governor, Dr. ACB Agbazuere has warned that the State Government will not bow to blackmail thereby abandoning the course of justice.
Dr. Agbazuere, who was responding to a press statement issued by the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) as one Barr. Emperor Ogbonna, said he needed to respond as a Chief of Staff to the Governor who was also mentioned in the press statement, so as to set the records straight.
He said the information which NBA relied on to issue the statement, emanated from the NBA Aba branch are copiously false, erroneous and misleading.
In his words, “Paragraphs 1,2 and 3 of the NBA press statement clearly confirm that at least Mr. Ogbonna has accepted that he re-shared a post in his Facebook page that Governor Ikpeazu went to India and took an oath before a Hindu god to mortgage Abia State. He also made other posts on this. Governor Ikpeazu has never visited India all his life and as a law-abiding citizen, he took recourse to the law instead of self-help.
The Chief of Staff pointed out that the Governor reported the case of cybercrime to the Police whereby the Police arrested and charged Mr. Ogbonna before the Federal High Court in Umuahia for cybercrime contrary to the terrorism case as claimed by NBA Aba branch.
He explained that, “On 28th April, 2020, the Federal High Court in Umuahia granted Mr. Ogbonna bail and adjourned the matter to 25th May, 2020 for hearing. This is the much involving the Governor and we are ready to prosecute the case. No government official even attended Court on the said 28th April, 2020, what more entering the Court premises for any arrest.
Agbazuere further clarified that inquiries carried out by him showed that the said Emperor Ogbonna was now arrested because he had made other divisive and subversive comments on his Facebook page against President Buhari and the Federal Republic of Nigeria referring to Nigeria as an Islamic Republic, calling for the impeachment of President Muhammadu Buhari, calling for the removal of Northern Nigeria from Nigeria, describing Northern Nigeria as an illiterate population and the biggest problem of Nigeria and inciting comments that Buhari hates the Igbos.
He wondered how the recent case concern Governor Ikpeazu or Abia State Government officials.
He describd the action of NBA Aba as emotions carried too far which led to the misinformation NBA headquarters, and cumulating into the ‘unwarranted and manifestly embarrassing press statement.’
Agbazuere, while noting that the Nigerian Bar Association leadership will never support crime, however said he was appalled that my NBA could hurriedly issue a press statement on an issue without hearing from the other side.
“No one is above the law and Mr. Ogbonna as a lawyer should have known the consequences of his actions and that Nigeria has a Cyber Crime Act,” he declared.
#AbiaOnline