Mrs Virgina Okolie, the mother of 21-year-old Glory Okolie, arrested and detained by operatives of the Inspector-General of Police Intelligence Response Team, said her daughter’s detention has cost her means of livelihood.
Virgina, a 65-year-old widow, who sells yam, told City Round that her capital was part of N280,000 policemen allegedly collected from the family so far regarding the case.
IRT operatives in Imo State had reportedly apprehended Glory alongside a motorcyclist, Izuchukwu Okeke, on June 17 to track down a suspected member of the Eastern Security Network said to be her boyfriend.
She was allegedly turned into a ‘maid,’ washing clothes and cooking food at the IRT office in Owerri, before she was later moved to the unit’s headquarters in Abuja.
In the wake of outrage generated by her story which went viral, the IG, Usman Baba, reportedly ordered investigation into the alleged unlawful detention.
A rights activist and Director General, Behind Bars Initiative, Harrison Gwamnishu, who posted Glory’s unlawful detention on Facebook had said the police promised to release her on Friday (yesterday) after a committee set up by the IG had concluded the investigation.
But neither Glory nor Okeke was released on Friday.
Glory’s mother told our correspondent on the phone on Thursday that her daughter’s plight had impacted negatively on her (Virgina’s) health and paralysed her business.
She said, “I have been sick and weak because I can’t see my daughter. I have been going to the hospital to receive treatment. I am a widow and hawk fried yam.
“I have spent all the money I have just to make sure she comes out. Her father died a long time ago and I am the one taking care of her and her siblings. She did not commit any offence yet they are extorting money from us.”
Glory’s uncle, Christian Okolie, said the policemen had collected N280,000 in bribes so far and demanded additional N100,000 to free the young lady.
Christian, whom Glory lives with at Obor community, Umutanze, in the Orlu Local Government Area of Imo State, said she went out that day after receiving a call from one Uzoma.
He said, “Glory was arrested on June 17, four days after she celebrated her birthday. Her phone rang and it showed a call from one Uzoma. She left and promised to return soon but she didn’t. We kept calling her but she said she was coming. The following day, we called her again and she kept saying she was coming; not knowing that the police were holding her captive.”
Christian said the family became more worried and feared she had been kidnapped when her mobile could no longer be reached on the third day.
He stated that they searched for Glory everywhere, including mortuaries, and later approached a senior officer at the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department, Owerri, for help.
He recalled, “I went to the SCIID with a colonel. A senior officer we met there said the only way to find her is to track her phone. They collected N50,000 to track her phone. After a few days, I went back there and was told that her phone had been tracked to Tiger Base – IRT office in Owerri.
“I wanted to go there but the officer cautioned me. He said the place is dangerous. I returned home and told my family what happened. A week later, a resident of our community, Izuchukwu Okeke, who was missing, came back. He said he was arrested alongside Glory. He said he was carrying her on his motorcycle when policemen stopped them at gunpoint and led them into a vehicle.”
Christian said the policemen invited Okeke to their office to retrieve his seized motorcycle but rearrested and detained him for disclosing Glory’s whereabouts to the family.
He stated, “I went to Tiger Base several times to see Glory. Whenever I wanted to ask her what her offence was, the policemen would interrupt me. There was a day they wanted to detain me too. It was the military officer who went with me that stopped them. In one of my visits, I saw her washing clothes.
“The officer later told me that one of the policemen confided in him that Glory is a boyfriend of an ESN member and that they used her to arrest the suspect. Our question is why did they refuse to release her after arresting the suspect?”
Christian said while Glory was in IRT custody in Imo, a policeman called her mother and told her the lady was sick, allegedly demanding some money so she could be released.
He added, “The caller said they would release her to us and use another person to replace her in the cell. In the background, we heard him asking for handcuffs. He sent us an account number where we can send the money to. We first sent N30,000; then N200,000 and another N50,000, making N280,000.
“Afterwards, a woman at the IRT office told me that she would help Glory because she didn’t commit any offence. The woman asked us to pay N100,000 so that they would change Glory’s statement. It was on Monday, August 9, that we learnt she had been transferred to the IRT office in Abuja.”
A police officer, who is privy to the case, confided in our correspondent that Glory had not been released because the police were still gathering facts about the case. The officer was evasive about when the lady would be released, but simply said “the police will speak on the case at the right time.”
The Force Public Relations Officer, CP Frank Mba, promised to find out details of the case and get back to our correspondent with comments. He had yet to do so as of press time.
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