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Following the allegations of homosexual practices levelled by an ex-inmate of the Owerri Correctional Centre, Victory Nnadi, the authorities of the centre have denied the claim, saying it has zero tolerance for such.
Nnadi, at a press conference in Owerri last week, said he was inundated with forceful attempts of sexual advances and extortion by fellow male inmates during his 12-day stay there from November 28 to December 10, 2024.
A spokesperson for the Owerri Correctional Centre, CSC Goodluck Uboegbulam, in a statement made available to LEADERSHIP, denied any acts of homosexuality even as he insisted that the centre had zero tolerance for homosexuality in the facility.
The statement reads, “It has come to the notice of the Nigeria Correctional Service Imo state command of a malicious write-up by some media houses of an alleged inhuman treatment in one of our facilities in Imo state.”
According to him, Nnadi did not report any attempt of homosexuality on him by either staff or fellow inmates, saying, “The said Nnadi Victory and his colleagues were admitted into our custody on the 24th November and all through their stay, never complained or reported of any form of maltreatment either by staff or inmates.’’
Uboegbulam said, “The command wishes to make it clear that it has Zero tolerance for torture and homosexuality within all our facilities.”
“The service under the leadership of Ag CGC Nwakuche Sylvester MFR, mni, is interested in the reformation of the inmates through skill acquisition and various educational programmes.
“The public is therefore advised to disregard the publication and continue to partner with the service in reformation, rehabilitation and reintegration activities”.
Nnadi, Chinedu Oguguom, Samuel Nduka, and a female Ogechi Chima said they were picked up from the NUJ secretariat and dumped at the correctional centre without arraignment by alleged desperate land speculators involving the Port Harcourt Road premises of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, from November 28 and December 10, 2024, where they passed through varying forms of abuse.
The four of them called for the arrest of Rev Godson Nlemchukwu and the chief Bailiff of the Magistrate Court, Mr Onyekachi Uba, for deceiving the court, which led to their false imprisonment and confiscation of their properties.
Their statement reads, “On the issue of our property, we give the chief Bailiff 7 days to return all our properties carried away from NUJ secretariat, or else we shall seek redress through every legally permissible means.
“Finally, we also urge the Attorney General of Imo state COC Akaolise to thoroughly investigate the circumstances that led to our Imprisonment and punish those involved to serve as a deterrent to others”.
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