Human rights commission lied against me — Chime’s wife
Wife
of the Enugu State Governor, Sullivan Chime, Clara, has faulted the
report of the National Human Rights Commission on her incarceration by
her husband. She said the report was set to damage her reputation.
This was contained in a letter of
complaint she wrote to her lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana, SAN, which was made
available to SUNDAY PUNCH on Saturday.
The NHRC had on Friday released a preliminary report on its investigations into Clara’s complaints of rights abuse.
Speaking on the report, the Executive
Secretary of the commission, Prof. Bem Angwe, said the bone of
contention between Chime and his wife was a disagreement over the
procedure for the treatment of her occasional hallucinations and
depression.
However, Clara, in the letter, said, “I
am very disappointed to read what has been narrated by the National
Human Rights Commission. Apart from the fact that the information was
largely false, it showed lack of sensitivity in publishing sensitive
medical detail.
“This has the effect of tarnishing and
damaging my reputation. It is as though the commission set out to
ridicule me. I made it clear to them that I had a nervous breakdown and
found it inexplicable as to how hallucinations featured as part of my
symptoms.
“It is important to make this clear, so
that the public should be made aware of this and that the Commission
should recognise part of her ethos in protecting human dignity. It has
been suggested by some quarters that the Commission appears biased
already because of the profile of the person whose reputation is at
stake.
“I want to believe that the Commission
would approach my case with open mind and in particular recognise me as a
victim of crime. I hope that common sense would prevail and that the
Commission should now retract the damaging publication and stop
stigmatising me.”
The First Lady had in a petition written on her behalf by Falana accused the governor of illegal detention.
Following the petition, the NHRC had written Chime, demanding access to his wife.
Angwe, however, informed journalists on
Friday that a five-man investigative panel from the commission had met
with those most concerned with the issue and inspected the said
apartment.
The NHRC scribe said the panel held
private discussions with Chime, the complainant, Clara; the governor’s
sibling, Dr. Jide Chime; the First Lady’s physician, Dr. Aham Agumoh;
and her elder brother, Tony Igwe.
Another person was one Dr. A. Uzegu, a
London-based consultant psychiatrist and forensic examiner, who is the
doctor preferred by Clara, through teleconference.
Angwe confirmed that for the last two
weeks, Clara had been confined to her apartment on medical advice for
purposes of medical maintenance and security. He further disclosed that
the panel learnt that the First Lady was allowed access to her son after
his school and lesson hours.
While reacting through a statement on
Saturday, the Chairman, NHRC, Mr. Chidi Odinkalu, said there was no
basis for the claims widely circulated in the media.
He said the commission had not made any
pronouncement on the state of health, physical or mental, of the
complainant (Clara) or any other party in the case.
Odinkalu said, “The commission takes
seriously its responsibility to fully respect the confidentiality of
parties before it and to reach its decisions only on the basis of law
and evidence.
“I should clarify that the team that the
commission sent to Enugu did not include any medical personnel. It had
neither a mandate nor the expertise to pronounce on such matters and has
clearly not done so. This is evident on the face of the statement by
the Executive Secretary.
“Allegations also that the commission
may have been compromised in the conduct of the case are both factually
inaccurate and manifestly unfounded.”
The NHRC boss said as a practice, cases
and complaints received by the commission were processed in accordance
with the National Human Rights Commission Act (as amended) and with the
Standing Orders and Rules of Procedure of the Commission.
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