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Meet The Man Who Spends 15 Years In Jail For A Crime He Didn’t Commit (Read Story)

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A 40-year old man has narrated how the poor legal system in Nigeria confined him behind bars for good 15 years of his life after being accused of the murder of politician, Alfred Rewane and later found innocent.

A 40year old man identified as Effiong Elemi-Edu has narrated how he was imprisoned for 15 years for the murder of politician, Alfred Rewane, which was later discovered that he was innocent off.
Narrating his ordeal to Aljazeera, Effiong  who is from Cross Rivers, said on October 6th 1995 in the Ikeja part of Lagos state, he had gone out to buy suya for himself and his wife when suddenly he heard gunshots. According to him, he took cover and later decided to run to his house. As he made the move to run home, he was halted by an order from a police officer.
“I stopped. There were police officers, lots of them.”
They asked him where he was going and he told them but instead of letting him go on his way, the officers pushed him into their vehicle and accused him of being an armed robber.
“I didn’t understand what they meant because I was not carrying any weapon on me, just the money I was going to use to buy suya. They took us, myself and one other guy to SARS [Special Anti-Robbery Squad] at Ikeja, where they kept me under a tree. Later, they came and took me to the ‘theatre’. There, there were two drums filled with sand. I was tied like a goat, two of my hands at my back; they crossed an iron rod at my back, and then hanged me”. He said he hung in that position for One hour, 20 minutes.
“They tried to force me to admit I was an armed robber – they even shot me in the leg. I have never robbed anyone in my life. I was just a young man struggling to save money to get admission into a higher institution to further my education.”
Effiong who had a dream of becoming a mass communicator had his hope dashed because an influential politician Delta state, Alfred Rewane, had been assassinated that morning by unknown gunmen at his residence in Ikeja GRA, a few hundred metres from Effiong’s home.
Effiong was in the wrong place at the wrong time
“They held me for days. There was no phone at that time and there was no way for me to get in touch with my family. It was my wife who learned about it. I think the people who saw me when I was taken away told her. Then she travelled home to inform my mother. They wanted me to copy a statement they had written to say that I am an armed robber and that‎ I conspired with the others in the murder of Rewane. I refused.
They beat me till my face was covered with blood which was pouring from my left ear.‎ I didn’t want to die, so I recopied the statement in my own handwriting. The statement is what they used in implicating us. As I was recopying the statement, the only thing on my mind was that I didn’t do anything and that my God will let everyone know the truth.
It was later that one of the‎ policemen came to tell us that he was sorry, that it was an order from above.‎ Later, they charged eight of us with the murder of the man. I don’t know the man, never heard of him. Those that I was charged with murder with, I had never seen any of them in my life.” he said.
After being tortured and forced to admit guilt, seven of the men were arraigned before a high court, and sent to Kirikiri prison to await trial. But when the men arrived at the prison, prison officials insisted that the police take them to hospital to have their wounds treated. Instead, they took them to a police station – where four of the men subsequently died, reportedly due to the injuries sustained while being tortured by the police.
“The torture and suffering were too much,” Effiong reflects.
Rewane’s killing was later linked to the military junta of Nigeria’s then dictator, the late Sani Abacha. But Effiong and two other men – Elvis Irenuma and Lucky Igbinovia, who had both worked for Rewane – continued to languish in prison.
Then, after 15 years, more than 200 adjournments and the prosecution’s inability to produce any evidence linking the suspects to the crime‎, the trial judge discharged the case and acquitted the suspects, upholding a ‘no case submission’ made by the defence counsel.
“It appears to me that all the police did was to visit the venue of the incident and arrest the workers,” the judge declared in her judgement.
So it was that, 15 years after they were arrested, three of the seven arraigned men – Effiong Elemi-Edu, Lucky Igbinovia and Elvis Irenuma – walked out of prison.
But gone was the fit 25-year-old who was picked up that night. In his place was a balding 40-year-old man who walks with a limp,  a constant reminder of the torture he endured.
“I spoke with Lucky recently, he’s in Switzerland now,” Effiong says. “I don’t know what he is doing there. We speak but not regularly. [And] I saw Elvis in June this year. I am supposed to call him, only I don’t have enough units in my phone.”
As for Effiong, things are not going according to plan.
“I’ve been facing a lot of challenges, accommodation-wise, money-wise. I need to get my own place. Right now I’m squatting with my brother and his wife in a one-room apartment. That’s why I’m praying to God to help me get a place of my own.
“When we were over there [in prison] … at times these churches [would] … come over to visit. Immediately [when] you … come out and say you want to go to church and give a testimony, they will look at you and say ‘Where is this guy going?’
Once, somebody came out [and] they accommodated him. [But] … the guy packed everything away [stole from them]. So they [the churches] stopped helping other people.”
Early on in his imprisonment, his wife would visit him. But the visits stopped without warning, and when Effiong was released, he heard that she had remarried. He had no idea where to begin looking for her.
Two years later, Effiong also remarried. His new wife, Juliet, lives in Cross River, where Effiong is originally from.
“My daughter is one year and four months now. I’m yet to set my eyes on [her]. Her name is Rose. They sent her picture to me. [But] I haven’t travelled home to Cross River since 2013 because financially I’m not okay‎.
I’m so down. If I see money now, I will travel home today, today, today. I can’t tell you a lie, life has not been easy. What will I do? It’s only by the special grace of God that one is surviving and living. Things are really so tough in the sense that I just leave everything to God.
These days I watch football. Then listen to gospel songs. If I’m alone, I just go through my Bible. They wasted my time.
They wasted the talent that God gave to me. At times it pains me, when I look at the way things are going. I know the level my friends are at now. Is it not my classmate in secondary school that is a commissioner in Cross River? The other one is working in Central Bank.
The other one is a lawyer in Port Harcourt. But I don’t dwell on those things. If I do, one day I’ll just be struck down by a stroke. So I have to put all those things behind me [and] let the will of God be done.” he said

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Eniola Badmus assumes office as aide to speaker Abbas

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Eniola Badmus, the Nigerian actress, has officially assumed duty as the aide to Tajudeen Abbas, the speaker of the house of representatives.

In May, the actress confirmed her appointment as the special assistant on social events and public hearings to Abbas.

In a post via Instagram on Thursday, Badmus shared photos of herself and Abbas at a meeting.

The film star disclosed that the meeting was with Godswill Akpabio, the senate president, at the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS) in Abuja.

“This week @speakerabbas and President of the Senate Godswill Akpabio at the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS), inaugurated the governing council of the institution, earlier this week in Abuja,” she wrote.

“NILDS, as the research and academic arm of the National Assembly, is a pillar of knowledge, a capacity-building powerhouse, and a think tank dedicated to advancing our legislative processes.

“NILDS’s mandate was to provide technical and analytical support as well as comprehensive, reliable legislative research to legislators, their aides, committees, and the bureaucracy of the legislative in Nigeria and beyond.

“Over the years, the Institute has significantly contributed to strengthening legislative institutions through its rigorous research, legislative support services, training program, and policy analysis.”

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Chris Brown, Yella Beezy sued for $50m over assault

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Chris Brown and Yella Beezy, the US artistes, are being sued by four men who claimed they were violently attacked and left hospitalised after a concert in Texas on July 20.

According to TMZ, Brown’s entourage lieutenant Sinko Ceej and Live Nation are also facing the lawsuit filed by the alleged victims.

The suit was filed in Houston on Monday by Larry Parker, Joseph Lewis, Charles Bush, and Damarcus Powell.

The plaintiffs are seeking $50 million in damages for alleged monetary losses, pain and suffering, disfigurement, mental anguish, and past, present, and future medical expenses.

They accused the defendants of “throwing chairs at them and repeatedly kicking, stomping, and beating them”.

The plaintiffs said they attended Brown’s ‘11:11 Tour’ at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth. After the show ended, they claimed that they were invited and escorted backstage along with 40 women to Brown’s VIP area.

The lawsuit claimed that Brown entered the area after 30 minutes but the alleged victims were tired of waiting and proceeded to leave.

Before leaving, Bush said he approached the singer to shake his hand and congratulate him on a good show.

The lawsuit said before Bush, Parker, Lewis, and Powell could leave, someone from Brown’s entourage said: “Man, you don’t remember you two were beefing?” The singer then allegedly told his crew to attack Bush.

The plaintiffs alleged that they were assaulted in a hallway by almost ten members of Brown’s entourage.

According to the suit, Brown and his crew allegedly punched Parker in the face and chest, kicked him in the head for over 10 minutes, and stomped him, causing him severe bodily injury.

Powell and Bush were said to have been punched in the shoulder and chest by the singer and his entourage.

Lawsuit documents said Bush, Powell, Lewis, and Parker all received severe injuries to their heads, necks, shoulders, and backs and are still receiving medical treatment.

In addition to the $50 million in damages, the plaintiffs have also filed restraining orders against Brown, Beezy, and Sinko Ceej to “preserve evidence”.

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Brain Jotter meets ‘Gwo Gwo Gwo Ngwo’ singer Mike Ejeagha

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Brain Jotter, the Nigerian skit maker, has finally met with Mike ‘Gentleman’ Ejeagha, the ace highlife singer.

‘Ka Esi Le Onye Isi Oche’, a song by Ejeagha, started to gain widespread popularity earlier this month after Jotter adopted the soundtrack for his hilarious dance moves.

The dance moves involve two or more people facing opposite directions and walking towards each other. They then meet at a point where they do the funny leg dance before one starts chasing after the other while a part of the chorus “Gwo Gwo Gwo Ngwo” is played in the background.

The song has also been recreated over 20,000 times on TikTok with many Nigerians, including celebrities, joining the challenge.

On Sunday, the skit maker sought to meet with the highlife legend, adding that he wanted to gift him the sum of N2 million.

But in an Instagram post on Monday, Jotter shared a photo he took with Ejeagha while expressing joy in finally meeting him.

“So happy I did this. Story coming soon,” he wrote.

Ejeagha is considered one of the pioneers of the highlife genre in Nigeria and was influential in the evolution of music in the Igbo language for over 6 decades.

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Bodex F. Hungbo, SPMIIM is a multiple award-winning Nigerian Digital Media Practitioner, Digital Strategist, PR consultant, Brand and Event Expert, Tv Presenter, Tier-A Blogger/Influencer, and a top cobbler in Nigeria.

She has widespread experiences across different professions and skills, which includes experiences in; Marketing, Media, Broadcasting, Brand and Event Management, Administration and Management with prior stints at MTN, NAPIMS-NNPC, GLOBAL FLEET OIL AND GAS, LTV, Silverbird and a host of others

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