From Govt House to mother’s home: The dramatic tale of Enugu First Lady

[Mirror]

On October 28 2013, an online publication reported that Mrs. Clara Chime, the First Lady of Enugu State alleged that his husband, Governor Sullivan Chime has placed her under house arrest and cried out for assistance to reach human rights bodies to rescue her.

Mrs. Chime was quoted to have said that since October 2008 when she married Governor Chime she was unable to share the matrimonial bed with him for over four years. She stated that even President Goodluck Jonathan and wife, Patience, intervened without success, same as the Catholic Bishop of Enugu Diocese, Most Rev. Callistus Onaga and other top priests. "My father is late, my Mum and few of my siblings are confused and have done all kinds of prayers they know. Three of my siblings prefer me dead than to see me leave the Government house. He treats my Mum and my siblings bad," Clara wrote. Mrs. Chime said she was introduced to two psychiatrists whose names she gave as Dr. Onwukwe and Dr. Agumo that prescribed drugs that kept her depressed and drives her into hallucinations. The doctors, she noted, are scared of her husband the Governor, to whom nobody can tell the truth.

Mrs. Chime further complained that the Governor ordered her to leave with her four-year old son whom she conceived before their wedding and later threatened to disown the boy should she leave with him. "He has told everyone he can reach that there is no marriage between us that I can leave if I wish to but whenever I plan to leave he instructs them to lock me in. I have told him through sms that I will leave my son behind and leave alone but still he instructed his securities to lock me inside the house."

She further complained that she has lost touch with the real world and all that makes her beautiful because of the side effects of the drugs she is taking, stressing that she is under house arrest for committing no crime. "He does not take care of me personally, the government gives me allowance to run the house and that's where I save little from to take care of myself, my Mum and few of my siblings. He shut me out of his life years ago; I don't have access to his apartment. The problem is enormous; I don't know where to start to explain from.

"Police and SSS men have been instructed by Barrister Sullivan Chime to confine me in a place for a long time now against my wish but it is my wish to leave these premises. Please assist me to reach to the human rights and say to them to please come hastily and release me," complained Clara.

Despite the widespread media attention the government house scandal received, Governor Chime failed to respond to her wife's allegations until the prominent human rights lawyer, Femi Falana wrote to the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. MD Abubakar, asking for Mrs. Chime's immediate release from unlawful detention and hostage at Government House, Enugu by Governor Chime, or be dragged to court. That was on November 1, 2013, when Mr. Falana, representing Mrs. Chime, pointed out that his client had been kept incommunicado in solitary confinement for over four months on the orders of Governor Chime.

"Thus our client's fundamental rights to the dignity of her person, personal liberty, fair hearing, private and family life and freedom of movement guaranteed by the Constitution and the African Charter on Human and People's Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004 have been violated without any legal justification," Falana said.

He also contended that his client's dehumanising detention conditions have had deleterious effects on her psychological state as well as her mental and physical health since she was denied access to her doctors by her "abductors."

The famous lawyer pointed out that unlike the governor who is currently immune from prosecution under the constitution, the police and state security service officials involved in the illegal arrest and detention of Mrs. Chime ought to be sanctioned under the relevant laws. Consequently, the Civil Liberties Organisation, CLO, Southeast Zone asked Governor Chime to set her free, citing human rights violations.

The CLO condemned in an unequivocal terms the alleged continued unlawful detention of Mrs. Clara Chime, saying she was held captive by security details attached to the Enugu governor. Other civil society groups-Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) and Women Advocate Research and Documentation Centre (WARDC) also petitioned Mr. El Hadji Malick Sow, Chair- Rapporteur of the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, asking him to urgently investigate allegations of arbitrary deprivation of liberty of Mrs. Chime by her husband.

It took another round of days of tension in Enugu, after Clara's complaint and Falana's petition before Governor Chime responded to the scandal. He invited some journalists from Lagos to the Enugu Government House where he paraded his wife in a smokescreen to paint a picture that all was well. Chime at the press conference showed said that it was quite heart-aching for him to speak out publicly about his wife's health challenges, insisting that he would do everything, no matter the personal pains, to protect her from ridicule. Mrs. Chime who was persuaded to speak on the issue denied contacting or engaging the services of Mr. Falana or any other lawyer to seek her freedom from incarceration at Government House.

Among those present at the briefing were Mrs. Chime's brother, Mr. Tony Igwe; the governor's siblings, Mrs. May Oji and Dr. Jide Chime as well as Mrs. Chime's neuro-psychiatric doctor, who was the Chief Medical Director of Federal Neuro- Psychiatric Hospital, Enugu, Dr. Aham Agumuo, among few aides of the governor. The governor was quoted as saying, "Well, my wife has some medical challenges and it would be very unkind for me to talk about her condition on the pages of newspapers. I've done everything to protect her integrity and I'm not now going to expose her to ridicule because some people want to exploit her situation to drag me into a needless war of words.

"We've been battling this (Clara's health challenges) prior to my inauguration in 2011. It was so bad at a time that she had to be taken out of here (Governor's Lodge) for treatment. When she stabilised, I pleaded with her doctors if she could be brought back here to be receiving her treatment at home and they graciously accepted. There was a time she was confined indoors and that was strictly on her doctors' advice. She's here and she can confirm or deny it. Also, the doctors then advised against allowing her access to telephones and laptop."

At that point, the governor paused, heaved a deep sigh and continued his emotional narration. "I cannot say or do anything to undermine her dignity. She is, first and foremost, my wife. The big blunder I committed was allowing her access to the telephone and her laptop, against the advice of her doctor. I'm paying dearly for that today, going by what is happening now.

"Her brother is here; her doctor is here with us too. You people (journalists) can confirm anything you want from them, either here and at your convenience. Would I have been a better husband if I asked her to leave the Lodge because of her medical challenge? Would it not have been more convenient for me if I allowed her to stay and be treated in the hospital? But like I said earlier, I wanted the best for her and that's why I pleaded with the doctors to have her treated at home.

That's also why I allowed her access to her telephone and laptop which unfortunately led to the stage where I'm now being falsely accused of imprisoning or detaining my own wife." For quite a long time, Mrs. Chime could not speak, despite persuasions from her husband and brother. At a point, her brother, Tony Igwe took her to an adjacent room where they spent few minutes before returning to join others. Igwe now assured the rest people that she was willing to talk but it was another round of silence.

At last, Mrs. Chime said: "You (referring to the governor) and my doctor can speak on my behalf." The Governor politely replied: "yes, I'm your husband and should ordinarily do so but you know I'm the one being accused of detaining you. This way, I've lost that privilege to speak for you, at least on this case. The story out there also is that your doctor is probably scared of me and gives you all kinds of drugs, sometimes against your wish."

The wife of the governor said: "My doctor and I don't have any problem." On the petition to the National Human Rights Commission, Mrs. Chime corroborated an earlier text message she had sent to her husband that she had not met Falana or engaged him to seek her release from a purported unlawful custody.

Rather, she admitted that she wrote a letter to her doctor, Dr. Agumuo and another doctor overseas whom she was introduced to and wondered how the letter leaked to the public. She also admitted that she was once confined to a room without access to her telephone and laptop.

"That was when I had a serious crisis," she says. Mrs. Chime also confirmed that she has the key to her room and controls her entry and exit, contrary to the claim in the petition that she had been locked up and asking to be allowed to leave. Her grouse was that she had not been allowed to leave the premises, though she attended Mass, even last Sunday. Governor Chime chipped in: "All I want to reassure you is that she is safe here. Her confinement within the premises for now is at the instance of her doctor who is here. Why would I want my wife locked up? If it had been that I had issues with her, there are many ways to resolve them. But that's not the case. She is not well and I'm willing to do anything to support and protect her.

"It was always more convenient for me to have taken the easier route but that would have been very callous and ungodly. When I had my own health challenge, I was receiving treatment in London and thinking about her, making sure she received the right treatment. I'm forever grateful to her doctors who have done a great job. Both families are billed to meet very soon and after that, I'll take a decision which will be in the interest of both parties."

On his reaction to the petition to the IGP by Falana, the governor said: "He's my professional colleague but sometimes you leave people to their conscience. I won't join words with him. Has he met this client of his as he claimed to assess her state of mind and determine if she can give him the right brief to guide his case? Did he ask for access to her or to me and was denied? I leave it at that.

"That's the penalty you face as a public officer. When I was receiving treatment in London, some of the newspapers reported that I had died in India. I've never been to India and had never applied for an Indian visa. Today, the story is that I've imprisoned my own wife in my residence. I know their motives but I wish those behind such wicked tales well."

Falana promptly reacted to his alleged disclaimer by Mrs. Chime, stating that he obtained her mandate to pursue her freedom from bondage. The human rights advocate also repudiated the claim by Governor Chime, that he did not receive a brief from his wife to represent her to secure her release from the illegal detention imposed by the governor. "I wish to say, without any fear of contradiction, that I have her instructions in writing to challenge her illegal detention at the Government House, Enugu.

Through the assistance of some of the security personnel in the Government House, she has since spoken to me on phone to confirm her instructions. Indeed, Mrs Chime's mother and her personal physician have also been in touch with me, urging me to take all appropriate measures to secure her freedom from Governor Chime's illegal confinement," said Falana. Beyond that, Mr. Falana pointed out that contrary to the governor's diversionary statement, he did not need the instructions of citizens who are illegally detained to demand for their release.

"Without any instructions, I am duty bound to file cases in court to secure the enforcement of the fundamental rights of detainees to personal liberty. For the avoidance of doubt, the doctrine of locus standi in the area of human rights has been abolished by the Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure) Rules 2009 which came into force on December 1, 2009," he said.

Mr. Falana noted that at the press conference, Governor Chime succeeded in confirming the allegation that he has held his wife in illegal custody but attempted to justify the illegality by alleging that his wife has "a medical challenge".

Falana said: "When Governor Chime was recently medically challenged he was not subjected to solitary confinement in the Government House but flown abroad for adequate medical treatment," the lawyer said.

"But Mr Chime has conspired with his private physicians to sentence his wife to unwarranted mental torture and psychological trauma in a room in the Government House for the past four months. If Mr. Chime's claim is correct that the wife is non compos mentis, when was the Enugu Government House converted to a psychiatric hospital?

"Having confirmed the allegation that he has wilfully infringed the fundamental rights of his wife to personal liberty, dignity of the person and freedom of movement Governor Chime should release his wife from illegal custody and be warned not to divert attention from the brutal abuse of the rights of his wife. If he and his doctors are convinced that she is medically challenged they should send her to a hospital for quick recovery!" Mr. Falana congratulated the Director- General of the State Security Service who, he said, directed the security service personnel attached to the Enugu Government House to desist from teaming up with the Governor to hold his wife hostage.

In the growing cacophony, the human rights commission released a report that Mrs. Chime has medical challenge that makes her hallucinate. But the governor's wife quickly expressed disappointment with the human rights commission verdict. She countered that what she rather has is nervous breakdown and accused the commission of compromise.

The Chairman of the Governing Council of the Rights Commission, Dr. Chidi Anselm Odinkalu, in a reply denied that the Commission was compromised in its investigation. Odinkalu explained that upon returning from Enugu, the commission's high level investigation team led by Professor Bem Angwe, its Executive Secretary, issued a public statement on the visit reflecting the public interest in the case.

He clarified that the team that the team sent to Enugu did not include any medical personnel, had neither a mandate nor the expertise to pronounce on such matters, and clearly did not do so in the statement it issued.

"While we remain grateful for the growing interest from the public in the work of the National Human Rights Commission of Nigeria and support for this work, I wish to please appeal to the public to respect the rights and dignity of the parties to pending cases and respect the integrity of the processes of the Commission, guaranteed by its Governing Council," he said.

The NHRC dismissed Mrs. Chime suggestion that they accepted a bribe from Governor Chime to write a misleading report about her illegal detention. Mrs. Chime's lawyer, Femi Falana, demanded that the NHRC report be withdrawn for lack of sensitivity in publishing sensitive medical detail. "This has the effect of tarnishing and damaging my reputation.

It is as though the Commission set out to ridicule me," said Mrs. Chime. On Monday November 11 2013, the Governor sent his wife packing from the government house. Governor Chime returned the embattled wife to her mother in Coal City Garden estate who wept profusely on sighting her daughter.

About six tinted cars including one with Enugu Government House plate number that came to drop her was spotted in the estate at about 8am when Mrs. Chime was returned home. A young man who claimed to be living at the building's boy's quarter confirmed that Clara was actually brought back to the house in the morning.