Mrs. Adaugo Chima Ikwunado,

…As required by our church, before marriage, we did test for diabetes, HIV/AIDS, etc

Okafor Ofiebor/Port Harcourt

Mrs. Adaugo Chima Ikwunado, the wife of  late Chima, the auto-mechanic allegedly tortured to death by officers of the E-Crack Unit of Rivers Police Command has described claims by the police that her husband died of complications from diabetes while he was in detention as false.

Speaking to journalists in Port Haracourt, Adaugo said she was shocked the police could still lie about the state of health of her husband after they tortured him to death based on false claim that  he stole the car that he was test-driving for his customer.

Adaugo  who spoke at press conference organised by some civil society organizations said her late husband never had diabetes, recalling that both of them had medical test before they got married in January 2019.

According to her, the HIV/Aids test, Blood sugar test, Genotype among others were part of the requirements before marriage in their church.

She therefore called on government to ensure justice for her husband, pointing out that his unborn baby will also need to be educated and would need sponsorship like other children without father.

Members of Rivers State Civil Society Organizations at the press conference

Also, the Rivers State Civil Society Organizations has given the State Government 14 days to intervene in the case of the murder of  Chima and four others still detained or face serious mass action.

Chairman of the Rivers State Civil Society Organizations, Comrade Enefaa Georgewill, accused the Nigerian Police Force, Eagle Crack, (E-Crack) Squad of attempting to cover up evidence by deliberately charging the four persons arrested alongside the late Chima to a court that lacks jurisdiction on the matter.

Recall that the detained persons – Victor Ogbonna, Osaze Friday, Ifeanyi Osuji and Ifeanyi  Onyekwere alongside the late Chima were  arrested on  December 19, 2019 by the Police for car theft.

But they were allegedly tortured in detention to admit that they stole one of the cars they were repairing.

Chima: allegedly tortured to death by police

While the torture led to the death of Chima, the four others sustained grievous injuries.

However, the owners of the cars, Eradiri Erepamo and Chinedu  Ezenwaliri later claimed that their vehicles were not stolen, but they they gave them out to the arrested men for repair. They demanded that the suspects should be released.