Some family members of the detained domestic workers of former First Lady, Patience Jonathan, held in the Okaka Custodial Centre, Bayelsa State, have publicly denounced the maltreatment and delayed trial of their siblings, saying they are undergoing hardship and torture.
TheNewsGuru reports that the staff have reportedly been languishing in Bayelsa State’s Okaka Correctional Centre without a court conviction, as their trial has been delayed repeatedly, allegedly under the orders of the influential former First Lady.
The report indicated that the staffs had been incarcerated without a competent court trial for an alleged robbery case involving Patience Jonathan’s jewellery.
According to sources familiar with the situation, the workers remained behind bars despite the years that have passed due to the continuous postponement of their trial, which is said to be on Jonathan’s direct instructions.
One of the charge read, “Golden Vivian, Erama Deborah, Precious Kingsley, Vincent Olabiyi, Ebuka Cosmos, Wiliams Alami, Tamunokuro Abaku, Boma Oba, Emmanuel Aginwa, Emeka Benson, Tamunosiki Achese Fiberesima, Wariboko Salome, Sahabi Liman, Reginald Sunday, John Dashe and others now at large, sometime in June 2019 at Otuoke community in Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, did conspire to kill Her Excellency Dame Patience Jonathan (former First Lady of the Federal Republic of Nigeria) and thereby committed an offence.”
A relative of the detained worker, Boma Hubert, in a recent interview said his brother, Reginald Sunday, was working in the former first lady’s hotel in Otuoke, when he was accused of stealing jewellery at the presidential villa in Abuja.
He described the continued detention of his brother as illegal, attributing it to the failure of the former first lady to appear in court since the case commenced in 2019.
Hubert said, “She (Patience Jonathan) has never appeared in court since the case started in 2019. The court was sitting twice a month before, but since 2023, the court has been sitting only once a month.
“The judge told us earlier this year that the case may be thrown out since the former first lady has never appeared in court, but nothing has been done to release them. I suspect that she (Patience Jonathan) is using her influence and power to ensure that they are not released.”
Similarly, a father of another defendant, Offor Cosmos, said his son has a medical condition, adding that his wife nearly died when the situation occurred.
He said, “My son is suffering. He has pile and it is disturbing him seriously. I want the government to help me because I do not know what is happening. The woman should leave my son.”
Steve Ibiene, the brother of another detainee, William Alami, expressed sadness over the situation, stating that he had been upset since his brother was imprisoned.
He said, “We only want them to do what is right. Let the court try them quickly, and if they are guilty, then sentence them to serve their punishment. They should not just be kept in prison without being tried. An investigation should be carried out. No court has pronounced them guilty, yet they have been in prison for six years.
“If they are later found guilty, what will happen to the six years they have spent? They should release all of them. No court has said they are guilty of the crime.
“The first lady accused people of theft and took them to prison, not just to a cell. She has been the one frustrating the case because she is a powerful person. Every time they go to court, they say the prosecutor is not around.”