 |
| Gov. Chime and wife Clara |
• Enugu governor may divorce
spouse
• Community insists on proper
dissolution of marriage
• Onwenu, Okei-Odumakin seek
probe, protection of victim
• Groups petition United
Nations, urge her release
ONCE upon a time in the not-too-distant past, the wife of a
state governor somewhere in the old Eastern Region took ill, reportedly of
depression.
Her once-loving husband, rather than show her the
care that could have helped her recover, shipped her off to a United States
(U.S.) hospital. .
Not much was heard of her, and till date, not much is
known of what befell the lady. .
Now, also in the East, specifically in Enugu State,
another script with similarities to the earlier incident is allegedly being
acted out.
Clara, the wife of Governor Sullivan Chime of Enugu
State, had written the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), accusing her
husband of subjecting her to horrific and intolerable conditions, including
house arrest.
She had told the commission that their union had
broken down irretrievably in the past couple of years. “We do not have a relationship anymore and the
situation inevitably led to my nervous breakdown. I have been diagnosed with
severe depression and at some point was quite suicidal. In effect, I am locked
up in my bedroom, without access to anybody,” her letter read in part. Apparently in reaction to her petition, the NHRC last
week visited Enugu with a team of investigators, where they had a series of
meetings with all the parties concerned: Chime; his wife; the governor’s
sibling, Dr. Jide Chime; Mrs. Chime’s doctor, Dr. Aham Agumoh; her elder
brother, Tony Igwe and the complainant’s preferred London-based consultant
psychiatrist, Dr. A. Uzegu.
The commission had on Friday, after concluding
investigations told journalists in Abuja that all parties agreed that Mrs.
Chime had medical challenges but had disagreed over how to handle her medical
condition. The Executive Secretary of the commission, Prof. Ben
Angwe, said: “The complainant told the commission that she has lost confidence
in the physician at present handling her condition and no longer wants him to
treat her.
“She further requested to have a medical opinion of
other medical doctors acceptable to her,” Angwe had said.
There were strong indications last night that the
marriage between Chime and Clara may officially be called off any moment from
now.
This followed a meeting summoned by the governor on
Saturday evening at the Governor’s Lodge, Enugu, where he reportedly asked
Clara’s family to take back their daughter.
The Guardian learnt that at the meeting, held around
5.00 p.m., and attended by about 10 relatives of the governor from Udi, and
about six from Clara’s side, both parties disagreed on the modality for Clara
to return to her people.
A source at the meeting who sought anonymity said:
“The governor pointedly asked her people to take her back on the grounds that
he was no longer interested in the marriage. But her people refused and
demanded to know why and on what condition. This almost resulted in a fight. In
the end, however, Clara’s people left, apparently to go and consult with their
people.”
Clara’s mother left Enugu yesterday to brief her
people of Ozuluobu in Amuda, Umunneoche on the turn of events.
Confirming the story to The Guardian yesterday
evening, the traditional ruler of Ozuluobu Community, Umunneoche, Abia State,
His Royal Highness, Eze Bob I. A. Ogbenna, said the family had formerly
informed him about the development.
He said: “She came in this evening to brief me. I am
already making consultations and we are going to organise some people to meet
with the Enugu State governor. Clara’s mother was in my place this afternoon
and informed me about their meeting with the governor. We are not fighting but
we need to hear from him. Since they want scandal, we will be ready to give it
to them. We will be in Enugu or Udi soon,” he said.
Eze Ogbenna, who said he handed over Clara to Chime when he
came for her marriage some years ago, told The Guardian on phone: “That is not
how to return somebody’s daughter whose dowry was paid in Igboland. She was
never a slave.”
.
He, however, expressed surprise over the attitude of
Clara’s brother, Tony, whom he said was allegedly backing the governor against
his sister.
“I don’t know why he
should support the position of the governor against his sister. Anyhow, they
will hear from us after our consultations,” he said. .
Meanwhile, in reaction to the conclusion of the NHRC, Mrs.
Chime had expressed her disappointment at its role.
Writing a confidant, she stated: “I am very disappointed to
read what has been narrated by the National Human Rights Commission. Apart from
the fact that the information was largely false, it showed 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.
“I made it clear to them that I had a nervous
breakdown and found it inexplicable as to how hallucination featured as part of
my symptoms. It is important to make this clear so that the public should be
made aware of this and that the commission should recognise part of her ethos
in protecting human dignity.
“It has been suggested by some quarters that the
commission appears biased already because of the profile of the person whose
reputation is at stake. I want to believe that the commission would approach my
case with open mind and in particular recognise me as a victim of crime. I hope
that common sense would prevail and that the commission should now retract the
damaging publication and stop stigmatising me,” she stated.
She had, in fact, written to the NHRC complaining
that they were insensitive to her plight: “You have published medical
information which is sensitive and not true and hereby request you to retract
same immediately. I regret that failure to do so will result in not granting
you further audience. Thanks.”
Speaking with The Guardian on the plight of Mrs.
Chime, the Director-General of the National Centre for Women Development
(NCWD), Onyeka Onwenu, said her detention was a violation of her rights as a
woman and human being. .
Onwenu said: “My heart goes out to her as a woman.
This is a very sensitive situation because, oftentimes and in situation like
this, you do not have all the information.
“Having said that, there is something that is
fundamental and that is the rights of human beings, which include freedom of
movement and association. .
“Even if she has mental illness, that does not
abridge her human rights. I think this is a case that should be taken
seriously; all freedom-loving Nigerians should do everything to ensure that her
rights are protected and that she has medical treatment, psychiatric treatment
of her own choosing because I understand she does not want the doctor chosen by
her husband. .
“She must have unfettered rights to her son because
that is her right as a woman and human being,” Onwenu said.
Former Nigerian Envoy to Ethiopia and member of the
House of Representatives, Ambassador Nkoyo Toyo, added that there was the need
to be cautious while interfering in the affairs and the nature of the problem
had not been disclosed. “The reason is, we do not know the real situation of
her illness. It will be difficult to say exactly whether it was violation
of her rights as a woman or due to mental issues. We must be careful here,”
Toyo said. .
President, Campaign for Democracy, Dr. Joe
Okei-Odumakin, described the detention of Clara Chime as “crude and barbaric”,
considering the fact that her husband occupies an exalted position of a
governor. .
She said: “The attitude is unbecoming of a governor,
that is why we have always said people occupying such positions should be
checked. We want a full investigation to be conducted into this issue to
ascertain the culpability of the governor. If found guilty, he should be
brought to book in order to serve as a deterrent to others,” Okei-Odumakin
said. .
Two civil society groups, Socio-Economic Rights and
Accountability Project (SERAP) and Women Advocate Research and Documentation
Centre (WARDC), have petitioned Mr. El Hadji Malick Sow, Chair/Rapporteur of
the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, “to urgently
investigate allegations of arbitrary deprivation of liberty of Mrs. Clara Chime
by her husband, Mr. Sullivan Chime, who is the governor of Enugu State of
Nigeria.”
The groups requested the chair/rapporteur to “issue
an urgent appeal to the governor and the Nigerian government to release her
from unlawful detention without further delay.” .
According to the groups: “The continuing restriction
and violation of Mrs. Chime’s rights also constitute violence against women,
especially given the physical and psychological suffering she is currently
facing.”
The petition, dated November 8, 2013 and sent through
the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Office, Mrs. Navi
Pillay, stated: “Mrs. Chime is not known to have committed any criminal
offence, and the deprivation of her liberty has continued to affect her
physically and emotionally as well as seriously undermine her other
internationally-recognised human rights. This deprivation and compulsory
confinement is not in conformity with international human rights standards, and
cannot be justified under any circumstances whatsoever.” .
Mrs. Chime had recently raised the alarm that she was
“locked up” at the Governor’s Lodge, Enugu, allegedly on the orders of her husband,
thereby restricting her access to relatives, friends and family. .
She was also said to have complained to prominent
human rights’ lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), over her incarceration and pleaded
with them to rescue her from her confinement. But Governor Chime
had denied the allegation, stressing that his wife has “health challenges” and
that her restriction was based on her “doctor’s advice.”
Explaining that she was being treated privately, he
stated that he would do everything to protect her integrity as well not to
expose her to public ridicule.
One source said Governor Chime tried to justify his
wife’s confinement as well as the high security presence around her as measures
designed to protect her privacy and to help her deal with certain health
challenges.
A source revealed that the governor told members of
the NHRC that his wife had to be confined in order to curtail her violent
tendencies.
In a report published on its website, the commission
stated that the issue was a disagreement between the governor and his wife
“over the procedure for the treatment of her health challenges, which border on
occasional hallucinations and depression.”
The commission’s report confirmed that Mrs. Chime had
for the past two weeks been confined to her apartment on medical advice for
purposes of medical maintenance and security, adding that the governor’s wife
admitted that she was in possession and control of keys to her apartment. Angwe
added that the commission’s five-person team of investigators had inspected the
apartment. .
But in an angry reaction to the commission’s report,
Mrs. Chime accused its members of accepting a bribe from the governor in order
to portray her as mentally disturbed, according to a source close to her.
In an e-mail to a close confidant, she wrote: “What
you read in the newspaper is a complete farce and fabrication,” adding: “The
truth is that I am severely depressed because of the inhuman suffering and
atrocious conditions I have been subjected to for some years now.” She said
that she had “been bearing the burden hoping that this ordeal would come to an
end somehow but the end seems endless, hence my crying out.” .
Mrs. Chime described her husband’s reported
“protection” of her as “all window dressing.” She stated that she was “only
suffering from depression because of all that I have been subjected to,”
adding, “I am not mad as he seems to convey. There is no family history of
serious mental illness in my family and would challenge him by bringing an
independent psychiatrist to assess or evaluate my mental state to prove my
point.” .
Reacting to Mrs. Chime’s claims, the NHRC said it was
not compromised on its report about the alleged illegal detention of Mrs. Chime
by her husband.
.
In a statement by Chairman, Governing Council of
NHRC, Chidi Odinkalu, on Saturday, the commission said that the allegations
against the commission were “both factually inaccurate and manifestly
unfounded.” .
“Having carefully reviewed the work so far undertaken
by members of staff of the commission, I find no basis in them for the claims
or speculation widely circulated in the media, that the commission has
pronounced on the state of health, physical or mental, of the complainant or
indeed any other party in this case,” Odinkalu said.
CALLED FROM THE GUARDIAN
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