A group, Coalition of South-East Youth Leaders (COSEYL) has described the arrest of a 25-year-old lady, Miss Vivian Igwe, who is a messenger in the Protocol Unit, Ebonyi State Government House by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over the payment of N17 million into her account by an unknown person as a cheap political blackmail to embarrass the dynamic and performing government of the state led by Governor David Umahi.

The group said that the evil plotters paid money into her account and called the Special Anti-Robbery Squad to arrest her in Ecobank branch in Abakaliki, the state capital, where she was innocently waiting to reactivate her blocked ATM card.

She was later taken away by the EFCC to their zonal office at Enugu.

A statement by the group, signed by Chief Goodluck Ibem, President-General and Comrade Kanice Igwe Secretary General of the group respectively, said the evil plotters went to various media houses to report that a staff of Ebonyi State Government House has been arrested by the EFCC for having N17 million in her account.

According to the statement, the evil plotters were the news bearers who took the information to the press in order to put the Government of Ebonyi in a bad light.

COSEYL said: “In their minds they believe they have scored a political point. Oh what a very cheap political point that is dead-on-arrival.

“These persons are not happy with the result-oriented and dynamic leadership of His Excellency Governor Umahi who has surpassed the achievement of any Governor who has governed Ebonyi State since its inception.

“Under Governor Umahi, Ebonyi State has the best road network in Nigeria, an international Cargo Airport seriously in progress, an international market and lots of other tangible and visible democracy dividends. Ebonyi people are indeed happy with their Governor and some people are not happy hence their little and uneffective plot to tarnish his hard earned image and reputation.

“Miss Igwe is a lady of integrity and honesty. She is just a victim of circumstance. Some persons want to use her to tarnish the image of Ebonyi State Government. Nobody will have or know he or she has N17 million in her account and continue to suffer working as an ordinary messenger that is not a government staff. The youths of these days will not do that. They must show-off their wealth and influence in order to oppress and intimidate their friends and neighbours, to tell them that, they have arrived.

“Miss Igwe’s antecedents clearly depict that she is upright and a lady of integrity that can be trusted. The Head of the protocol office where she assist them can attest for her as an upright young girl with nothing up-her-sleeves.

“The EFCC should urgently trace the account or person that paid such amount of money into her account and arrest the person or persons.

“Keeping her in EFCC custody is an infringement on her fundamental human right and right to freedom of movement and liberty. That she is poor doesn’t mean she is not entitled to enjoy the provisions of the Nigerian constitution that guarantees her freedom to liberty.

“That an unknown person pays in money into your account doesn’t mean you know the person in question. If it is so, that means everybody in Nigeria will go to prison for a crime you know nothing about.

“If this matter is not handled properly, it means that anyone who wants to deal with his or her enemy or enemies just needs to pay in money earned via questionable means into the persons account and the person is in for trouble.

“We call on the EFCC chairman Mr. Ibrahim Magu whose performance have been very impressive and has lived up to expectations in fighting crimes and corruption to use his good offices to ensure that the real culprit who paid in money into Vivian Igwe’s account in order to implicate her and at the same time ridicule Ebonyi Government House where she helps them with errands is arrested and prosecuted according to the law.

“The evil plotters who paid in money into her account believe she is a bonafide Staff of Ebonyi Government House and that dealing with her will be a serious embarrassment to the focused Government of Ebonyi State led by Engr. Umahi.

“We call on the resourceful and result-oriented Governor of Ebonyi, Gov. Umahi, who has the interest of Ebonyi people at heart, to disregard the antics of his detractors and use his good offices to ensure that Miss Vivian Igwe get justice and released to her family.

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