•Mrs Celestina Amadi
Mrs Celestina Amadi, a widow from Abazu Akabo in Ikeduru Local Government Area of Imo State, narrates to how her son, David, was allegedly falsely accused of robbery and sentenced to death 28 years ago, as well as the family’s unsuccessful efforts to secure his release, reports Saturday PUNCH.
Excerpts:
Can you tell us about yourself and your son, David Amadi, including how long he has been in prison?
I am Celestina Amadi, a 75-year-old widow. My son, David Amadi, has been in prison for 28 years. He was imprisoned when he was 17 years old, and he is now 45.
Could you tell us the circumstances that led to his imprisonment?
One day in 1998, police officers came to our compound and met my husband, who was David’s father. They asked about David’s whereabouts, and my husband told them he was not at home but had gone to a dance event in Uzoagba. The policemen immediately began searching for my son. He had gone there with the son of a man called Vita.
Who is Vita?
Vita is the complainant who accused my son of stealing his money. When the police arrived in Uzoagba, they searched for my son but could not find him. Later, a group of boys joined them in the search, and they eventually located him. He was at a place where a family was burying a loved one.
When the policemen saw him, they confronted him and dragged him outside. They kicked him, and he fell to the ground. They then forced him into a waiting vehicle and sped off to Owerri.
By the time I returned from the farm, where I had gone to harvest cassava, and was informed about the incident, I immediately sent his brother to look for him.
That day, I cooked food and gave it to his brother to take to David whenever he found him. He searched everywhere, including the prison in Owerri, but did not see him. He then checked the State Criminal Investigation Department, where he eventually found David and gave him the food.
Did you visit him at the State CID?
I went to see him as soon as I was told he had been found. I visited him many times.
The police later came to my residence and searched the entire house. I was not around because I had gone to the farm. My husband was at home, and although they searched everywhere, they found nothing and left.
Later, they returned and arrested one Ikechi from our community. They came here again and asked me for food, which I gave them. They then went to Ikechi’s house and conducted another search, but again found nothing incriminating. Afterwards, they took them back to the State CID.
What did the police say was their offence?
After about a month, a member of the community reported that he had been robbed and accused my son and some others of robbing him of money.
Ikechi’s mother and I went to the complainant and asked him when the robbery had taken place. He did not answer our question. Instead, he asked us to leave his compound. He said the sword had already left the sheath and could not be returned.
I began to cry as I made my way home. My husband asked about the outcome of the visit, and I told him the complainant refused to listen to me and sent me away. My husband consoled me.
How is your husband doing now?
My husband died because of this matter. He constantly called for his son, David, before he became ill and died.
The imprisonment of his son, whom he believed was innocent of the accusations against him, caused him immense pain and contributed to his high blood pressure. It started after I returned from the complainant’s house and told him what had happened. He became ill and died not long afterwards.
When was your son taken to court?
David was taken to court from the State CID, where he was being held. We did not have a lawyer while he was in police custody. We only engaged one after he was charged and taken to court.
The judge who sentenced my son came from Orlu.
Was there any evidence tendered in court that proved your son robbed the complainant?
There was no evidence to show that my son was in the complainant’s house, let alone that he robbed him.
Did the complainant tell the court that he saw your son among those who robbed him?
The complainant said the robbers wore masks.
So, what judgment did the judge deliver?
They were all condemned to death.
You mean they were sentenced to death?
Yes. Judge Ukachukwu sentenced them to death.
Did you appeal the High Court judgment?
Yes, we appealed the judgment in Owerri.
What was the Court of Appeal’s position on the matter?
The Court of Appeal upheld the judgment of the High Court.
Three people were involved in the case. The complainant and our family are from the same village.
While my son was arrested on his way to perform at a singing event, the other person, Ikechi, was arrested while preparing to swear an oath that he had no involvement in the robbery.
They were remanded in prison for two years without trial.
The police later travelled to Port Harcourt and arrested the third person, Matthew. He was working as a farmer there when he was arrested.
They allegedly tortured him. He said the police inserted a stick into his genitals, and as a result, he began confessing to crimes he did not commit. The police would ask him whether a particular person was involved in the robbery, and he would answer yes because of the torture.
Afterwards, they brought him to Owerri and added him to the case.
Even after two years, they were still awaiting trial. We attended court proceedings regularly, but each time we went, we were told that the matter had not come up. Some people also took advantage of the situation to defraud our family.
The truth is that the man arrested in Port Harcourt implicated himself and the other two boys because of the torture he allegedly suffered at the hands of security operatives.
It was his statement, which he made under duress, that was used to implicate David and the other person.
The complainant, Vita, continued with the case despite repeated pleas that David knew nothing about the robbery that took place at his residence.
What happened after the alleged torture of the man arrested in Port Harcourt over the robbery at Vita’s house?
The man began to behave like someone with a mental health condition. During one of the court sessions, he shouted and banged on chairs in the courtroom as if they were drums, insisting that he knew nothing about the robbery. He kept saying that his hands were clean.
His behaviour in the courtroom might have influenced the judge’s decision to sentence them to death. Not long after the case ended, the judge died.
Did you speak to any lawyer, human rights activist, or non-governmental organisation about the matter, given your belief that your son did not commit the offence?
No, we did not. After the High Court sentenced him and the two others to death, we appealed to the Court of Appeal and later to the Supreme Court, but the judgments remained the same.
That was as far as we pursued the matter before we became exhausted. After that, we focused on taking food to my son in prison.
Which prisons are they in now?
Two of them are in Port Harcourt prison, while the third person is in Lagos prison.
What is your appeal to the Imo state government on this matter?
We want anything that can be done to secure their release because they are innocent. We want them back home.
But are you sure your son is not guilty of the offence for which he was convicted?
My son was wrongly accused. His father and I were sleeping in our house on the day the robbery occurred. The news of the robbery spread throughout the community. My son knew nothing about what happened at the complainant’s residence.
Were you and the complainant enemies before the robbery incident?
The fact is that, in this community at that time, anyone who spoke the truth was often seen as an enemy. Even when members of Ratel came, some people were happy about it, while others were not. I am not an enemy of anybody.
Have you and the complainant resolved the matter, even though your son remains in detention?
The wound is still there. So, how can the matter be resolved? It would be like rubbing salt into an injury.
There is no way we can resolve the matter after 28 years. It can only be resolved when my son and the two others are released from prison.
If you were in my position, would you reconcile with someone who sent your son to prison even though he was innocent? That month when the incident happened, every member of our family was in distress.
Are you considering speaking with groups that can help you fight for your son’s release?
The Ratel family came here recently with their lawyer. I have already told them that your newspaper would be interviewing us.
So, I do not think it is necessary to engage another group or lawyer on the same matter.
How many children do you have?
I have nine children, and they are all alive, including the one who was wrongly imprisoned.
Your son is 45 years old and still in prison. How does the family intend to help him rebuild his life, especially regarding marriage and starting a family?
If he is released today, we will do everything we can to help him get married, start a family, and establish a business.
His eldest brother, Innocent Amadi, is capable of helping him.
If David is released today and decides to get married tomorrow, Innocent, his brother, will help make it happen. He can even sell his vehicle to support his younger brother’s marriage.
What the family wants most is for him to be freed. Innocent will also take care of his medical needs.
Are the families of the other two people convicted alongside your son also seeking their release?
Yes. Mama Ikechi is also moving from place to place in search of help to secure her son’s release from prison. All the families involved are seeking the release of their sons.
