Less than 24 hours after his arrest by the Imo State Police Command, the General Manager of the Owerri Capital Development Authority (OCDA), Hon. Iheanyi Abaekwume last Friday regained his freedom.
Speaking to journalists after his release on Friday, Hon. Abaekwume said he was not surprised at his arrest because it is part of the hazards of his job as a development enforcer.
He denied the gun-running allegation levelled against him and added that the gun found in his premises belonged to the members of the Imo State Security Network who were guiding his residence.
Hon. Abaekwume who also denied that substance suspected to be Indian hemp was found in his premises , used the opportunity to debunk the reports making the rounds that he shunned police invitation.
He said a person of his status in the society has no reason to refuse to honour police invitation. “If such invitation should come, I think it has to come through writing and I didn’t receive any such thing”, he added.
Hon. Abaekwume called for more support from the police, saying the OCDA could not function effectively without the assistance of the security agents.
He described his arrest as purely political, saying “when we remove the shanties of the poor, they don’t complain much because we give them notice but when the illegal buildings of the rich are marked for removal, they tag it political”
The OCDA chief maintained that the authority was not selective in its job, saying that what OCDA was doing was to restore the master plan of the capital city of Owerri.
He stated that the arrest by the police had only succeeded in making him and the authority stronger.
This, he said, means the authority is ready to implement the master-plan which was established in 1978, adding that much would not be established without the full support of the police and other security agencies.
On whether he would seek redress against the police for violating his rights, Hon. Abaekwume stated that he would take no action because the incident was normal inter-agency squabble which could only make the relationship between the two agencies stronger.
The OCDA boss used the opportunity to assure the people of the state of a beautiful capital city this yuletide.
He also appealed to the press to enlighten the people of the state more about the activities of the authority.
