Enugu businessman allegedly tortured, imprisoned over driver’s actions, wife cries out
Mrs. Nkoli Nzekwe, wife of popular Enugu businessman Tochukwu Nzekwe, also known as Toshel, is raising alarms after her husband was sentenced to prison by a magistrate court on September 26, 2024.
She alleges a conspiracy between the police and a business rival to unjustly incarcerate him. Over the weekend, she claimed that her husband, Managing Director of Toshel Nig. Ltd., is being punished for an offense allegedly committed by one of his company’s drivers.
According to a petition filed by Tochukwu Nzekwe’s lawyers, Emeka Abah & Co., the issue began on May 29, 2024, when one of his company’s truck drivers, Okechukwu Ofor, was involved in an accident around 7-8 PM, allegedly damaging part of an asphalted road under construction by Eketeson Nig. Ltd.
The petition, dated May 31, 2024, and addressed to State Commissioner of Police CP Kanayo Uzuegbu, alleges that three policemen associated with Eketeson assaulted Ofor, leaving him in a coma before dumping him at the Independence Layout Police Station. The officers reportedly acted on the orders of Eketeson’s Managing Director, Donald Ekete. Fortunately, some compassionate police personnel took Ofor to the police clinic at the State Police Headquarters, where doctors worked for hours to save his life.
However, the situation escalated after Nzekwe’s petition to CP Uzuegbu, which sought justice for his driver. Amid attempts to resolve the issue, Nzekwe was suddenly taken to an Enugu Magistrate Court around 5:20 PM on September 26 and charged with promoting local war, leading to his remand at Enugu Correctional Centre.
Lamenting her husband’s ordeal, Mrs. Nkoli Nzekwe stated, “My husband informed me that he was called by CP Uzuegbu a day before the incident and was assured that the issues surrounding the damaged road and the assault on the truck driver would be resolved. Mr. Ekete told him that no further action was needed. However, as my husband was leaving, he was unaware he was being tracked by a group led by an individual known as Lion-King, allegedly an officer from the Enugu State Police Command Headquarters, along with three officers from Ekete’s security team. These men illegally detained my husband at a hotel, luring him under the pretense of a business meeting. Once there, he was ambushed, his phone forcibly seized to prevent him from contacting his lawyers, and he was violently assaulted, handcuffed, and blindfolded.
“Shortly after, my husband was swiftly arraigned before Magistrate Chukwuani at 5:20 pm, with three fully armed police officers present in the courtroom, creating an intimidating atmosphere. Mr. Ekete’s personal lawyer and a police prosecutor were also present.”
With tears in her eyes, Mrs. Nkoli Nzekwe appealed to State Governor Dr. Peter Mbah and Inspector General of Police IGP Kayode Egbetokun to intervene and put an end to her husband’s ordeal.
“My husband was not the one driving the truck. He only spoke out against the brutal attack on the driver through a petition, only to be kidnapped, detained, and arraigned by proxy,” she lamented.
Proofreading by Uchechi Ojo, Sub-editor at Neptune Prime.
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