The Imo State Police Command has denied the claim by one Nkeiruka Kamalu that she was tortured, victimised and detained unlawfully after she was arrested on May 6, 2019.
Kamalu had claimed that she was raped on August 9, 2015, by the member representing the Ohaji/Egbema/Oguta/Oru West Federal Constituency of Imo State at the House of Representatives, Kingsley Uju.
Kamalu, a businesswoman, had on September 11 told Justice Nicholas Oweibo of the Federal High Court in Lagos that following an incestuous relationship with Uju, the lawmaker offered to pay her N20m if she divorced her husband, Mr Gabriel Igbibi.
She sought protection from Uju, whom she alleged caused her to be arrested on May 27, 2019, tortured, humiliated and detained for seven days by the Special Anti-Robbery Squad and arraigned on a fictitious N40m theft charge.
The lawmaker has, however, denied the allegations, describing Kamalu as a lair and blackmailer.
Briefing journalists at the command headquarters in Owerri on Wednesday, the Police Public Relations Officer, Orlando Ikeokwu, said contrary to Kamalu’s claims, she was arrested in May by the command for conspiracy, child trafficking, forgery, threat to life and advanced free fraud.
The police spokesperson said investigation revealed that Kamalu blackmailed the lawmaker into sending her huge sums of money.
Ikeokwu stated that Kamalu forged a Canadian visa, which she allegedly used to extort money from Uju.
The police spokesperson said, “The command received a report of a case of advanced free fraud, child trafficking, forgery and threat to life against one Nkeiru Kamalu.
“The command arrested two suspects, Nkeiruka Kamalu and Emeka Muoneka. Both suspects made confessional statements as to the offences committed. For the purpose of clarity, the said Nkeiruka Kamalu called Kingsley Uju, claiming to be pregnant for him, and as such, blackmailed him into sending her various sums of money.
“She later claimed to have given birth to twins and that one died; she sent him the picture of a baby boy.
“In the course of investigation, it was discovered that she was never pregnant for Kingsley Uju and that she was never in Canada as she claimed; and that she forged the Canadian visa, which she snapped and sent to Uju to trick him into sending money.
“It was also discovered that Emeka Muoneka took her to Nnewi in Anambra State, where she bought a three-day-old baby boy for N1.8m. She installed software on her phone, which ensured that a foreign number appeared whenever she called Uju.”
The police spokesperson stated that Kamalu was charged upon the conclusion of the investigation.
“There was no time she was victimised, tortured or detained unlawfully. The command, therefore, urges members of the public to disregard the allegations as they are false and baseless,” Ikeokwu added.
PUNCH
