Ritual killing allegation: Businessman sues Obi for N3b

Chief Bonaventure Mokwe has been battling for justice and restoration of his family’s tarnished name since last year. But the cookies appear not to be crumpling the way he wants.

Mokwe was arrested for murder and tagged a ritual killer in 2013. He was eventually remanded in prison.

He was charged to court and acquitted. When he came out, he demanded for justice and apology from the Anambra State government, which till date, he has not received.

Barely hours that Mokwe was arrested in 2013, his Upper Class Hotel, situated at 8, Old Market Road, Onitsha, was levelled to the grounds. Part of the justice he wants is that the state government, which hurriedly pulled down his hotel without recourse to proper police investigation, should pay him damages and restore his reputation and that of his late father, whom he inherited the hotel from.

A fuming Mokwe snarled: “My father’s name and reputation was smeared when the hotel was described as a ‘proceed of crime.’

That hotel was where Peter Obi’s mother used to patronize and buy liquor to sell during the 70s.” Mokwe said that the hotel had been in existence for 40 years. He could not understand nor forgive anyone describing it as a ‘proceed of crime.’

According to him, he had tried to settle the matter between him and Obi amicably, but things had not worked out the peaceful way he wanted, thus he has now sued Obi. Mokwe sued Obi to the tune of N3billion classified as special and general damages for ordering the demolition of his hotel.

According to the writ of summons dated July 10, 2014, the defendants are Anambra State Government and the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice. The summon, issued through Mokwe’s Counsel, Joe Onuoha and Co, asked the court to compel Anambra State Government to pay N3, 000,000,000.00 as special damages, N2, 831,350,049.75 as general damages for demolishing the hotel.

The summon reads: “ On the early hours of August 1, 2013, the police arrived at the Upper Class Hotel on allegations that arms, human skulls and ammunitions were stored in the hotel. Even before the police entered the premises of the hotel, bulldozers, excavators and pay loaders were already stationed beside the hotel, ready for demolition.

When the Police entered the premises, they went straight to room 102, where a customer lodged and came out with two old human skulls, two rusty AK 47 guns and a military cap, planted by the police and agents of the defendants and informed staff of the hotel that the items were purportedly discovered in one of the rooms of the hotel. The plaintiff and his staff were never in possession of room 102 since it was a lodging room for customers.”

The writ continues:” Room 102, in the Upper Class Hotel was occupied by a lodger the previous night under the fake name’ John Obi, who also had not checked out of the room by the time police arrived and recovered the said objects from the room. The submitted manifest reflected the name of John Obi’s as occupant of the room.

The said John Obi was a fake name used by one Olisa Egbuchiem. The police refused to look for John Obi who was still in possession of the room’s key at the time they arrived, even when they were given detailed information about the lodger.”

Mokwe said that prior to the demolition of his hotel; he was approached by Fidelity Bank PLC, through one R.T Martins to purchase the building and its premises for establishing of the bank’s branch- es in Onitsha, but he had refused. Mokwe said that his being framed as a ritual killer, was because someone was itching to get his/her hands on his property.

Mokwe revealed that his lawyers had commenced what he described as, “first leg of likely three legs of litigations in my quest to be fully and adequately compensated for the sadis- tic and lawless demolition of my hotel by Obi led government.”

Recalling his SARS experience, Mokwe said: “My case could have been settled and damage-controlled while I was detained at the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), Awkuzu, Anambra State. Instead, James Nwa- for, the Officer in Charge of Awkuzu SARS, elected to save Obi the embar- rassment of a public U-Turn and sets about manufacturing evidence.

“It concluded the near-death tor- turing of my land agent, Chibueze Ikemene, to append his signature to an already written statement that I was responsible for the death of one Mr. Nnalue Okafor.

“I was taken to the back of their torture chamber and my trouser was taken off me and used in wrapping around my neck. A green rope was then wrapped around my neck. “They started pulling from both sides of my neck till I fainted. My thumbprint was inserted in an already written statement, collaborating the state- ment of Chibueze Ikemene.

I’m a mas- ter’s degree holder from the Univer- sity of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada, North America. I’m certainly more educated than every police officer at Awkuzu SARS and yet my signature was thumb printed.”

Mokwe said that the police and the state government under Obi were not fair to him. He said: “All prior cases of kidnap-ping underwent investigations for months before structural demolition.

In my own incident, my hotel was de- molished two hours after my arrest. When kidnappers were arrested at Ar- thur Garden Hotel, Nkpor Anambra State, the hotel was first sealed and the incident investigated after which the owner was exonerated and the ho- tel reopened. Mine was an exception.”

Mokwe said that in June, 25, 2014, the newly inaugurated Anambra State Task Force on motor park manage- ment arrived Ose motor park, Onit- sha, to hand over the management of the motor park to Mr. Kwentoh, APGA State Chairman, who incidentally had paid the requisite money to Anambra State Government for the right to man- age the park. Mr. Patrick Aghamba, a native of Onitsha, Umudei village made them to know that he was running the motor park on behalf of a powerful Onitsha native and gave his name.

The task force left. He said that at the height of the motor park dispute between him and Onitsha natives, was the same Mr. Pat- rick Aghamba who threatened him, saying that Onitsha natives would eventually own all his properties, in- cluding his motor park.

He further explained: “Mr. Olisa Egbuchiem, the Onitsha native that lodged in Room 102 of my hotel on the night of July, 31, 2013 and planted the two rotten human skulls and two rusted AK 47 rifles, all in the same Bago sack, is also from Umudei as Mr. Patrick Aghamba. “The police know the name of ev- ery person who participated in set- ting up of my hotel, arresting them will compound the embarrassment of the State Government, and that’s the blunt fact. The over bearing in- fluence of Onitsha natives, most es- pecially the one regularly mentioned by Mr. Patrick Aghamba is the root cause of the unguided reaction by Obi.”

Mokwe said that he was extending an Olive branch to Governor Willie Obiano, to try and get to the root of his case by meeting with his lawyers. “My hotel demolition is a case of intelligence failure not crime fight- ing.”

He added: “Granted that the hotel was demolished in a moment of er- ror of judgment, who then takes the blame? I was born and brought up at Onitsha, and so was Obi.

“Mokwe” family name and wealth dates back to the 50s in Onitsha and continues till date. Obi is not ignorant of this fact. Obi is in the position to end all these and let me go my own way.

Wishing it away is way off the mark.” Mokwe narrated that his wife sent several messages to Obi on the issue, who acknowledged that he was misled into taking the action he did, but Obi still did not act.

On the allegation of murder levelled against him, Mokwe said he was set up. His words: “Mr. Nnalue Okafor, whom I was accused of killing, was a frontline MASSOB member.

He was ar- rested by the police on April, 29, 2013, at Fegge Onitsha and has not been sighted ever since. Mrs. Nwuza Oka- for, the mother of Nnalue, made that much clear in different newspapers publications.” Mokwe said his hotel demolition was over a year now, and no single charge was pending against him.