Human rights activist, Professor Chidi Odinkalu, has responded to a statement by the Anambra state government over his allegations that a senior aide to the State Governor, Professor Chukwuma Soludo, was frolicking ‘sexually’ with the wife of popular native doctor, Chidozie Nwangwu, also known as ‘Akwa Okuko’, currently serving a jail term at the Amawbia Correctional Center.
The government, in a statement on Tuesday, described the allegations as false and misleading, accusing Odinkalu of refusing to provide evidence to substantiate them.
But, in a response on his X platform on Wednesday, Odinkalu insisted that his allegations remain unimpeached, warning that what he described as ‘an amateur cover-up’ will fail again as it failed before.
He recalled receiving a WhatsApp message from a number he had not communicated with before, informing him that the Anambra State Government had launched an investigation into his allegations and requiring him to disclose the sources of his information and the identity of the government functionary he was referring to.
Odinkalu said the message, which claimed to be from the Attorney-General of Anambra State, Tobechukwu Nweke, SAN, also sought a date and time convenient for the investigating committee to either meet him in person or to have a virtual meeting.
He further acknowledged that the same number sent a reminder to the earlier message, while also expressing willingness to extend the time to enable him to respond.
Odinkalu, however, noted that the message did not disclose the composition of the investigators, the bases of their authority, or the terms of reference.
“It is no wonder that all the person who claimed to be Attorney-General wanted was to ask me to disclose my sources to him. It also seemed to me incongruous that an investigation should be run by WhatsApp.
“Surely, an Attorney-General claiming to be a #SAN ought to know how to write a letter. I was genuinely skeptical about the credentials claimed by this person. I declined to dignify their transmission. I am glad I did so. I am not surprised to see that they have chosen the low road of a non-event for a whitewash. They have now named one Mr. Emeakayi as the person. For the record, Ken Emeakayi was the suspect named in the vile murder nearly 25 years ago, of the former chairman of the Nigeria Bar Association in Onitsha, together with his wife.
“I should add one more thing. What the Anambra State Government has attempted to do is worse than a whitewash. To make matters worse, it is incompetent. They claim, with a touching lack of self-awareness, that my allegations are “false & misleading.” Allegations can be either false or misleading. They cannot be both at the same time.
“If the allegations are misleading, the burden is on the government to say how so. They have chosen to walk on both sides of the road at the same time, assuming no one will notice the silliness.
“I am only disappointed that a state government with claims to progressive credentials will choose to stake its credibility in this manner on behalf of a man whose reputation for involvement in violence is long & large. This vain and valiant attempt at a cover-up is all the proof there is as to the credibility of the claims I made. I stand by everything I have said,” Odinkalu insisted.
