Ms Minates Edighotu has narrated the touching story of the travails of her brother, Mr. Fortune Edighotu, who lost his wife in a tragic fire accident, only to be arrested by his brother in law, Corporal Kelechi Emmanuel of the Police Mobile Force in Port Harcourt on the allegation that he killed his sister. He has been languishing in the state CID, Port Harcourt for months. The police has refused to either charge him to court or release him as is required by law.
The photos above shows Mr. Fortune Edighotu on his wedding and traditional marriage day. Squatting in the pix with bowler hat and T-Shirt is MOPOL Corporal Kelechi Emmanuel, his brother in law who has kept him locked up. Read the full story below:
False Accusation of My Brother as a Murderer
On the 20th of September 2016 my brother Mr. Fortune Edighutu received a call from a hospital around his neighbored Immanuel Clinic to report to the Clinic immediately. He ran as fast as his legs could carry him down to the clinic and to his greatest shock found his beloved wife and son lying in a hospital bed burnt by fire. Demanding from her how it happened she said she was filling the kerosene lamp with kerosene while the lamp was still lit. So there was an explosion and fire caught both mother and child. The whole kitchen and parlor was in flames but mysteriously nothing got burnt.
Neighbors came to rescue them and rushed them to that nearby hospital. They spent a night there at the hospital after the nurses and doctors did the needful. That same evening my brother called me and I spent the night too with them in the hospital, the next day upon discovering that the bills were much for us so we decided to go to a government clinic where the bills will be considerably affordable. So after dressing the wound the next morning and bandaging them, we went to the house first so that she could rest a while possibly the next day or two we can go to BMH. We got home, I made food, cleaned the house, we ate and rested. In the evening of that day, a lady came to the house and they were speaking in the Igbo language. I didnt understand the exact things they said but I only know they were making arrangements for treatment because the lady was writing down some items. So this was how the plans of going to the hospital (BMH) was quashed!
My brother started buying the items the nurse wrote down and treatment commenced almost immediately so the nurse, Mrs. James was treating her in their home. The treatment from the home too was still consuming finance, because my brother was always buying the different items needed per time. During that period, there was virtually no day my brother was not going to market or chemists shop to buy things needed for treatment ranging from drugs to bandages, Vaseline etc. After three weeks when we discovered that there was no visible improvement, that was when Mrs. Joyce agreed to be taken to BMH. During the time we were in the house, her mother (mother-in-law) would come around, stay for few days and go back. So on the 11th of October we took her first to Mile One Clinic and later in the night to BMH. At BMH, they initially refused to attend to us because they said the injury had been infected already, after much plea she was admitted the next day. I left late that night to my residence at Iwofe.
The treatment commenced and bills were settled accordingly. My brother struggled to pay these bills because he does not have a steady job. He is into entertainment and has jobs mostly on weekends. So he was in the hospital with her all through. The mother was still coming and going. She was not steady. During the period, my brother and his mother-in-law had a misunderstanding, where she accused our family of setting the fire to burn her daughter. So this led to a fight between my brother and his wifes younger brother.
Meanwhile after my brother was robbed, he retrieved his line and started using his wifes phone, since he had all the contacts to make. He actually bought a phone but the phone didnt work. So he started using has wifes phone till date! There was a day Kelechi Emmanuel came to my brothers house and threatened him that if his sister should die nobody in my brothers family will drink tea whatever that meant!
On the 6th of January 2017 Kelechi Emmanuel my brothers in-law ordered for my brothers wife to be taken to village. My brother refused, since there was improvement already in her health after the herbal medicine woman started work on the 30th of December 2016. My brother opposed the idea of taking her to their village but his wifes brother overruled and they finally took her to their village in the company of one Mrs. Christy and the wifes younger brother, the same that fought with my brother in BMH. As they were leaving the wife even asked for money but my brother told her no money for now, but that by Tuesday the following week, he will definitely send money across through Mrs. Christy. So they left in a cab to Umufeke, my brother wife, her brother CJ and Mrs. Christy.
While they were on the road my brother would call from time to time to know how far their journey had gone and how his wife was doing. But at that their village then as always network issues so he couldnt reach them at some point. But much later that same day, he called Mrs. Christy and she said she was back in Port Harcourt and that his wife was okay.
The next day 11th of January, my brother received a call from the village that he should come that his wife is really down. The caller, the village Chief did not state clearly what happened.
Another caller a village pastor asked him to come that his wife was dead. Habba! A wife he has been taking care of since September 2016 to January 2017 didnt die. Then just a day after she was taken to the village, she died! It was unbelievable. So he waited to hear from the people that took her to the village or at least from her own parents directly. But they never contacted him. He kept calling this Mrs. Christy she wasnt taking calls. In the evening at about 7:00pm the younger brother that took her to the village called and I took the call and CJ told me she died the previous day while they were on their way to the village.
Mrs. Christy was still not picking up her phone until I suggested he call her with my phone and she took. He asked her if she knew what has happened she said no! She has not heard anything like that. That nobody has called her to tell her. Habba! So he asked her, but CJ said she died on the way to the village she said no, its not true. She didnt die in the vehicle.
For the records up till this time, they have not formally; I mean my brothers in-laws, come to inform him of his wifes death. The Kelechi that came to the house and took his sister to the village against her husbands wish, has not even called him on phone, let alone accord him the respect of a husband to at least pay him a visit and formally tell him how it happened, the way it should be done in a core African traditional society. Rather my brother was hearing the news of his wifes death through the grapevine, no formal information from the people that took bride price from him and ate his food and drink. Now it was police officers that were inviting him to the police station. He did not marry his wife in a police station, so he couldnt honour such invitations.
As a result of his bereavement he could not stay in his house alone again, so my mother asked him to come and stay with us. He has being with us since then. But all these while, Kelechi goes to his house in the night to look for him with guns. During this period our family too was trying to put things together to go and see her people. Because of the threats we have been receiving from her people, we were being careful while still making arrangements for the visit and subsequently the burial.
The caretaker to my brothers apartment had been calling him to clear his properties so he can rent out the apartment. So on Wednesday last week, 5th April 2017, My brother went to move some things to a nearby house, in the company of our family friend, Henry Tene. At about 10pm, Kelechi stormed the compound firing into the air, used tear gas on them and commanded them to lie down and he flogged them with koboko and stepped on them with his boot.
That our family friend miraculously escaped, ran home and narrated their ordeal. That night we alerted the police because the scenario was typical of a kidnap case, we didnt know where he took him to because while he was torturing them, Kelechi was saying he will kill my brother slowly that night. So were so worried and called everyone we knew could help. We went to report to Mopol 19, (Kelechis), station that was when he mentioned that my brother had been taken to SCID. But the previous night he was taken to Kala police station to be tortured and beaten thoroughly by his colleagues and criminals.
Now Kelechi is alleging my brother killed his sister. He claims that before his sister died, two days before he came to pick his sister, that my brother (her husband) forced something into her mouth and that after she took it her stomach started troubling her. He accused my brother of not taking care of his wife, not giving her food, not sleeping in the house anymore. All these are lies. If he was not staying at home with her, who was assisting her when she wanted to ease herself, washing all her soiled clothes. He claims my brother was not even in the house when he came to carry the sister, but it was right there before my brother they took her away. And immediately he even went to the same Kala to report that his wife had been taken to the village by her people.
Based on these false allegation my brother has been detention since then.
On the 4th of December they were discharged from BMH because the wound was not improving still from BMH they were referred to UPTH for skin grafting which involved huge amount so they went to the house then his people said they wanted to take her to village. But they didnt do that immediately. On the same day they came back from BMH at around 10:15pm my brothers brother in-law who is a corporal, Kelechi Emmanuel came to the house that the DPO of Kala police station asked to see him. Habba! He was detained for 18 hours upon his release, he was forced to sign an undertaken at the police station before he was released. Kelechi alleged that my brother abandoned his sister, that he didnt take care of her and that he is the cause of the fire. How did he abandoned her all when he paid all the bills; and he never left her side.
Did I mention that she couldnt walk as she was bedridden. So when she wanted to wee or pooh my brother had to hold out the bowl for her. He was washing all the wrappers and bandages she used. He was the one cooking, doing all the chores.
My father contracted a herbal nurse to come and treat her since white medicine did not work. Did I mention that while they were in BMH that my father would go there give out money for her treatment still give mother and daughter pocket money. My father was the one supporting my brother with the bills. So this herbal nurse, a police woman commenced and in a matter of days there was visible difference even from the surface as it changed from reddish color to brownish color. Even the water coming out of the surface of the wound was dried up. The patient herself confessed that there was improvement. During the period of this treatment something happened, she went mute couldnt utter words anymore. My brother called our mum that she could talk anymore, so we started praying for God to at least restore her speech.
Now I did not mention that my brother was and is still using her phone, her sim is still on him (my brother) so how did he Kelechis sister contact him.
Kelechi heard this and claimed that something suspected to be poison has been forced down his sisters throat, but he did not do anything about it he did not raise an alarm, but he rather forcefully took her to the village. It is after she had died that he comes to claim she told him.
All these are just a way of incriminating my brother. They have seen his innocence and they know their daughter dying in their hands is a serious case, so they are trying to shift the blame to my brother and his family by heaping lies.
But in all these let justice prevail and let my brothers innocence be proven beyond doubt. Post settings Labels Schedule Permalink Location
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