Acquitted Rivers Fire Suspects Allege ₦200M Bribe Offer​

 Acquitted Rivers Fire Suspects Allege ₦200M Bribe Offer​

In a startling revelation, four men acquitted of charges related to the October 2023 Rivers State House of Assembly fire have alleged that they were offered ₦200 million and promises of relocation abroad to falsely implicate Edison Ehie, the Chief of Staff to Governor Siminalayi Fubara.

The individuals—Chime Ezebalike, Kenneth Kpasa, Oladele Lukman, and MacPherson Olumini—shared their harrowing experiences during a press conference in Port Harcourt.​

Ezebalike, speaking on behalf of the group, claimed that a prominent PDP leader from Obio/Akpor Local Government Area approached them with the offer. “We were asked to rewrite our story and falsely name Edison Ehie as the mastermind of the Assembly fire,” Ezebalike stated.

He emphasized their refusal to participate in any nefarious plot, especially after enduring significant trauma.​

The men recounted their arrests between December 5, 2023, and January 5, 2024, during which they were accused of arson at the Assembly complex, the killing of SP Bako Angbashim—the Divisional Police Officer in Ahoada—and an alleged assassination attempt on Speaker Martins Amaewhule.

They described being blindfolded, denied legal counsel, and subjected to torture at the Federal Intelligence Response Team facility in Port Harcourt. “We were beaten, starved, and forced to sign confessions we never wrote,” they revealed.​

After spending over six months in detention, their case was transferred to the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt, where all charges were dismissed in November 2024. Now free, the men feel compelled to expose the alleged misuse of state power.

“This country belongs to us all. No one should be tortured or forced to lie for political convenience,” Ezebalike declared, urging civil society and the media to resist the weaponization of state institutions against innocent citizens.​