A Federal High Court sitting in Awka, Anambra State, has absolved an Onitsha-based businessman, Chief Arthur Eugene Nworah, of kidnapping and illegal importation of arms leveled against him by the operatives of the State Anti Robbery Squad (SARS).

Ruling on the motion filed by the counsel to Chief Nworah, Mr. Ifeanyi Ejiofor, the presiding judge, Justice M. L. Abubakar, awarded the sum of N2 million against the Anambra State Police Command for illegal detention of the applicant and set him free from all the charges against him.

Speaking shortly after the court session, Chief Nwora, who spoke through his counsel, Mr. Ifeanyi Ejiofor, alleged that his problem started some time in 2005 when he had contact with a well known Oraifite oil magnet, who incidentally hails from the same community with him.

He alleged that the encounter in 2005 led to some business transaction which involved over N900 million, adding that his ordeal in the hands of the SARS operatives in Awkuzu was allegedly masterminded by his business rivals.

Chief Nworah while brandishing a petition he wrote against operatives of SARS in the state, also alleged that he was tricked into believing that he was going to help the estranged business partner to clear his containers.

“I never believed he would turn his back against me but when it eventually happened, I was angry and resorted to prayers. When one day my wife told me some policemen were looking for me everywhere, I decided to go to the police station myself to know why they were looking for me and they clamped me into detention,” Nworah said.

He further alleged that during his stay in the police cell, there were plots by the police on alleged orders of a businessman from the state to eliminate him, adding that his release from the cell on the orders of the court was necessitated by the statement from the state counsel, who said he found nothing incriminating against him.

•Photo shows Anambra Police Commissioner Usman Gwary.

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