(OPINION) ABIA PENSION FRAUD: When Dishonesty, Ignorance, Emotions Lead Narratives- Ferdinand Ekeoma

1. Some citizens were allegedly involved in pension fraud that has shortchanged the state and denied innocent pensioners their legitimate entitlements over the years. At the last count, not less than eleven (11) of them, male and female are in DSS custody after they were tracked down and arrested at different locations.
2. In order not to violate the rights of the accused persons, the DSS, secured an order in line with the provisions of our laws to detain the individuals beyond the mandatory maximum 48 hours, to enable for more investigation and for those already arrested provide more useful information that would assist arrest some other members of the cartel.

Another suspect was tracked down and arrested yesterday at a community in Abia North, courtesy of useful information gotten from those already apprehended.
Some are said to be abroad, and the government is making efforts to get them repatriated to Nigeria and to Abia to face justice.

3. Of all the people that were arrested and detained, there’s only one citizen, Success Nwabueze Onyekachi whose case is of utmost importance to those who ruined Abia State in the past. For them, he is more important than all Abia Pensioners put together, because he obviously has been a destructive tool in their hands, and thus should be given a pat on the back, and a trophy of holy accomplishment and asked to go home and celebrate. Are some people so mean and unfair to Abia state in the name of opposition, to the extent of asking that a citizen whose actions may have caused pain and anguish to innocent people shouldn’t at least be made to go through the process of the law to establish his innocence or otherwise?
4. Where on earth do people exhibit such audacity of wickedness? Where on earth do people manifest such grand hypocrisy? How could those who condemn and castigate the government for occasional omission of pensioners during monthly pension payments, now turn around to defend those who allegedly remove names of genuine and legitimate pensioners and smuggle in strange and illegitimate names used to siphon pension funds on a monthly basis?
5. What action has the Abia State government taken in this matter so far that amounted to illegality or injustice?
6. How come that, while Lawyers, including those in opposition with superior knowledge of the law have not been able to establish a single evidence of illegality or abuse against Abia state government in this matter, yet, those who are either swimming in the pool of emotions, ignorance or hate are the ones driving a kindergarten narrative that encourages criminality and negates the right and welfare of the victims of the alleged fraud?
7. It’s Important to educate those who do not know but are desirous of knowing, that, Success Nwabueze is the only one that enjoyed the privilege of being transfered to prison, courtesy of DSS advice, which would provide him with the opportunity and unfettered access to medical care, pending their possible arraignment in court in the next few days, a privilege that’s not readily available in the DSS custody. The Magistrate court acted in accordance with the provisions of the law, which now gives the Honourable Attorney General the opportunity to advise on the next line of action, which will most likely be arraignment in court.
8. A few uninformed critics think that being remanded in prison by a Magistrate court, amounts to trial and conviction. No, this usually happens because the court does not have the Jurisdiction to entertain the matter, hence the case file is transferred to the HAG for advice.

Application for bail can now come by the time the accused will be arraigned in court. One doesn’t need to be a Lawyer to know or understand this daily elementary aspect of Law.

9. For those carelessly comparing the arrest and detention of Success Nwabueze with the illegal and violent abduction and incarceration of innocent Abia citizens that took place during the Okezie Ikpeazu led-government, please desist from deluding yourselves and kindly note the following difference:

(A) People were abducted and incarcerated because of the opinions they held against the then government. Measures were put in place to perpetually incarcerate them illegally, to the extent that when they were granted bail, they were violently re-arrested.
Here, the present Abia State government did not and will not arrest anyone for criticising the government. Even where there’s a clear case of defamation, the highest this government will do is to take legal action in accordance with the law.

(B) The suspects here were legally arrested and detained for alleged Pension Fraud and will be freely and fairly tried in court, unlike those abducted in the Old Abia and perpetually dumped either in prison or DSS custody without the desire for trial.
Victims in the Old Abia were usually abducted violently and illegally.

(C) Success Nwabueze and others were officially arrested by a known government security Agency following the state government’s petition. The government also duly communicated the public on the reason for the arrest and measures being taken to serve them justice.
In the Old Abia, the government never came out honourably and openly to admit its involvement and state the offence of those arrested, rather it unleashed its attack dogs in the media to mock the victims and defend the government’s acts of lawlessness.

10. Finally, the PDP opposition elements and their allies holding meetings in different WhatsApp groups to besiege the government by feeding the public with lies and disinformation on this matter, should know that this strategy is dead on arrival, because the government is firm and determined to prosecute to the fullest anyone involved in this fraud, even as investigation is being intensified and deepened. If anything, those defending the fraud would feel ashamed of themselves by the time the glaring facts will be made available in court.

Ferdinand Ekeoma
November 9, 2024.