Problems according to Mr. Edwin Okolie started Monday January 27, 2014, when he went to the said piece of land to begin development since he had rightfully paid for it, but met ‘the shock of his life’ on arrival. In his words, “I bought this Land in 2011 to establish my business, but when I got to the site on that faithful day to begin work on my property, I got an unpleasant surprise; when a certain man identified as Chijioke Medumere, brother to Imo State Deputy Governor arrived my property with thugs and a certain Nonso also known as Alhaji to inform me that I had no right to build on the land because according to them, the land had been re-allocated to his brother who is the Deputy Governor, Eze Madumere. When I tried resisting them, I was thoroughly beaten up by this man and his thugs.”
What was Edwin Okoli’s next line of action? “as a law abiding citizen, I wrote an open letter to the office of the Inspector General Of Police(IGP) copying the Presidency, the Human Right Commission as well as relevant agencies attaching all necessary documents to prove that this land belongs to me. After sending out this letter, I decided to wait for necessary authorities to get back to me”.
In August 2014, Edwin who is also the proprietor of famed Port Harcourt night Club Eddiz Wine Bar got his first official response from the Human Right Commission through an official who is simply identified as Ohans Chinedu, inviting him (Edwin) to come and provide his Certificate of Occupancy and physically identify the piece of land to enhance investigation that will help ascertain the real owner of the land. On getting to the land on August 12, Edwin Okoli was once again accosted by the brother of the Deputy Governor Chijioke Medumere and his aides who informed him(Edwin) that on the orders of the Deputy Governor, Edwin be held hostage until he himself (the Deputy Governor) arrives. “When the Deputy Governor eventually arrived; he started punching my face as he ordered his SSS and other aides to join in the beating, hitting me with their guns. They tore my clothes, bundled me into the boot of one of their cars and whisked me to a Police Station in Owerri. On getting to the Station, the officer in charge of the case let me go, because according him, the case was still in the Office Of The Inspector General Of Police (IG). From there, I was taken to the hospital for treatment due to the bruises I sustained from the beatings. Hence my decision to turn to the public with prove of my land ownership and pictures of me in the hospital when I was receiving treatment so that the world can let us see the kind of people we have in power. I challenge him to provide his own prove of ownership; like the community once asked him in January so the world will know who owns the land”.Our first port of call to get the other side of the story was Human Right Commission officer Ohans, whom Edwin said was on ground as at the time of the event, and here is what he told us in a recorded interview which was done via the phone, “the truth is this, I took Edwin to the Land for my investigation as instructed by my Abuja office, but was shocked when he discovered the Deputy Governor and his men were already there. When and how they got there, I do not know, but what I can tell you is that on the orders of the Deputy Governor, Mr. Okoli and even myself, were attacked, beaten by the Security aides of the Deputy Governor, my ID card was broken and my car keys forcefully taken from me, until I screamed on top of my voice, that I work for Human Right Commission…”
To further balance this report, we reached out to the Deputy Governor’s office and his media aid, Richie Madumere vehemently denied on behalf of his boss, “my boss didn’t beat up Edwin, in fact there wasn’t any beating at all on that day”…Keep a date with us on developments concerning this subject as events unfold.