BY AGNES NWORIE, ABAKALIKI
The Peoples Democratic Party’s candidate for Ebonyi North East State Constituency of the Ebonyi State House of Assembly in the last general elections, Maduabuchi Akamalo, has lamented how he was allegedly framed up and convicted for allegedly rejecting a bribe of N70 million from some leaders of the All Progressives Congress in the state.
He claimed that Governor Francis Nwifuru of Ebonyi State and the Minister of Works, David Umahi, offered him N70 million to drop his Assembly bid for the constituency seat and step down for their candidate, Chinyere Nwogbaga, of the APC.
According to him, his refusal to take the alleged bribe has fetched him intimidation and court conviction on an alleged trumped-up charge.
The Point had reported that Akamalo, a prince of Okaria community in Ebonyi Local Government Area was sentenced to six months imprisonment by a Magistrate’s Court in the state for allegedly cutting a finger of one of his father’s subjects, stealing and trespassing on a land.
In a four-count charge suit, marked “MAB/419c/2023”, he was found guilty of forcibly entering into land belonging to Nwekwa’s family, assault, using machete to cut one Mr Chidi Nwekwa’s right finger and stealing some of their valuables on June 10, 2023, at Okaria Village.
He was sentenced to six months imprisonment with an option of N50,000 fine by Magistrate Ngozi Ngele.
Meanwhile, the embattled politician, in an interview with The Point, disclosed that the land in dispute was given to his father, His Royal Highness Pius Akamalo in 2007 by Ishiuke, the custodial owners, noting that the courts and traditional rulers were not the owners of the land in Izzi community, Ebonyi State, but the people popularly known as Ishiuke Amaegu.
He said the judgement of the magistrate’s court had been appealed and expressed optimism that the Appeal Court’s verdict would be in his favour.
Explaining how he was sentenced, the traditional ruler’s son narrated that the land dispute was political, stating, “I insist it is political because in the 2023 general elections, I contested under the Peoples Democratic Party for Ebonyi North East State Constituency. Since when my party gave me ticket to contest, I have been into one problem or the other because I want to stabilise my political movement.
“It was worse that people started to use the Judiciary to intimidate me. The family that I have issues with arerelatives of the former Attorney General, Cletus Ofoke, also a relative of my rival, the APC candidate, Chinyere Nwogbaga. They did everything to stop me from contesting that election. On the 2nd of March, 2023, the Appeal Court in Enugu ruled that I was the authentic candidate of the PDP and awarded a cost of N200,000 in my favour against the person that took me to court.
“On March 3, the then Governor of Ebonyi State, Chief David Umahi, called me on phone around 11:00pm,saying that I should step down for Chinyere Nwogbaga and collect N50 million. I told him the election was already one week away and I could not do such a thing to my people. My people wanted to vote for me which they did. So, I turned the offer down.
“Then, the following morning, the present Governor, Chief Francis Nwifuru, called me and requested that I should see him in the evening. When I got there, Governor Francis Nwifuru said I should step down for Chinyere Nwogbaga and collect N20 million cash that night. I told him: “Your Excellency, it is already one week to the election; if I collect this money now, it is not even up to half of the money I already spent.”
Akamalo alleged that Nwifuru had stopped him when he (Akamalo) wanted to contest in 2015 because, according to the governor, “it was not not yet the turn of my people.”
“After rejecting their offers, the APC family in the state started doing everything possible to pull me down at all costs. There was crisis. We did not know the people that went to kill about two or three of my supporters and burnt their cars. Instead of government to go into proper indepth investigation of the matter, they brought some teenagers and started beating them to admit that I sent them. One of the boys was beaten to the extent that he defecated on his clothes. All these allegations were aimed at tarnishing my image and stopping my political career.
“I believe the Appeal court will give its judgement in my favour, because people that allocated that land to me are custodial owners of lands in Izzi clan of Ebonyi State popularly known as Ishiuke. Ishiuke of Amaegu,” he stated.
Efforts to get reactions from the APC leaders proved abortive.
