Prominent Igbo group, Coalition Of South East Youth Leaders (COSEYL), has described the arrest of Miss Vivian Igwe, an aide to the Ebonyi State governor, David Umahi, as an act of cheap political blackmail to embarrass the Governor.
It could be recalled that Miss Vivian was arrested by the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) over the payment of seventeen million naira (N17,000,000) into her account by an unknown person.
Reacting over her arrest, COSEYL through a statement signed by its President General, Chief Goodluck Ibem, said those behid the plot are persons who are not happy with the kind of the leadership of His Excellency Governor David Nweze Umahi who has surpassed the achievement of any Governor who has govern Ebonyi State since its inception.
The statement reads below…
The arrest of a 25 years old girl by name miss Vivian Igwe who is a messenger that assist on errands in protocol unit, Ebonyi State Government House by men of the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) over the payment of seventeen million naira (N17,000,000) into her account by an unknown person is a cheap political blackmail to embarrass the dynamic and performing Ebonyi State Government led by Governor David Nweze Umahi.
The evil plotters paid money into her account, called the Special Anti-Robbery Squard to arrest her in Eco bank where she was innocently waiting to reactivate her blocked ATM card. She was latter taken by EFCC to their zonal office at Enugu.
These evil plotters went on air and media houses to report that a staff of Ebonyi State Government House has been arrested by the EFCC for having N17,000,000. in her account. They evil plotters were the news bearers who took the information to the press in order to put the Government of Ebonyi in a bad light. In their minds they believe they have scored a political point . Oh what a very cheap political point that is dead-on-arrival.
These persons are not happy with the result-oriented and dynamic leadership of His Excellency Governor David Nweze Umahi who has surpassed the achievement of any Governor who has govern Ebonyi State since its inception.
Under Gov. Umahi , Ebonyi State has the best road network in Nigeria, an international Cargo Airport seriously in progress, an international market and lots of other tangible and visible democracy dividends .Ebonyi people are indeed happy with their Governor and some people are not happy hence their little and uneffective plot to tarnish his hard earned image and reputation.
Miss Vivian Igwe is a girl of integrity and honesty. She is just a victim of circumstance here. Some persons wants to use her to tarnish the image of Ebonyi State Government. Nobody will have or know he or she has N17,000,000 in her account and continue to suffer , working as an ordinary messenger that is not a government staff. The youths of this days will not do that .They must show-off their wealth and influence in order to oppress and intimidate their friends and neighbors, to tell them that, the have arrived.
Miss Vivian Igwe antecedents clearly depict that she is upright and a girl of integrity that can be trusted. The Head of the protocol office where she assist them on some duties can attest for her as an upright young girl with nothing up-her-sleeves.
The EFCC should urgently trace the account or person that paid such amount of money into her account and arrest the person or persons.
Keeping her in EFCC custody is an infringement on her fundamental human right and right to freedom of movement and liberty. That she is poor doesn’t mean she is not entitled to enjoy the provisions of the Nigerian constitution that guarantees her freedom to liberty.
That an unknown person pays in money into your account doesn’t mean you know the person in question. If it is so, that means everybody in Nigeria will go to prison for a crime you know nothing about.
If these matter is not handled properly , its then means that anyone who wants to deal with his or her enemy or enemies just needs to pay in money earned via questionable means into the persons account and the person is in for trouble.
We call on the EFCC chairman Mr. Ibrahim Mustafa Magu whose performance have been very impressive and has lived up to expectations in fighting crime and corruption to use his good office to ensure that the real culprit who paid in money into Vivian Igwe’s account in order to implicate her and at the same time ridicule Ebonyi Government House where she helps them with errands is arrested and prosecuted according to the law.
The evil plotters who paid in money into her account believe she is a bonafide Staff of Ebonyi Government House and that dealing with her will be a serious embarrassment to the focused Government of Ebonyi State led by Engr. (Chief) David Nweze Umahi , fnse, fnate.
We call on the resourceful and result-oriented Governor of Ebonyi , Gov. Umahi who has the interest of Ebonyi people at heart , to disregard the antics of his detractors and use his good office to ensure that Miss Vivian Igwe get justice and released to her family.
