UPDATE - An Urgent Cry For HELP

Dont ever underestimate the Power of the Social media!.....We posted a story here yesterday of a blog visitor's brother and his friends who were being unlawfully detained and as soon as i posted that story,other blog visitors swung into action like a family and before long,the boys had been released unconditionally,albeit with some injuries....

Here is the update and I'm going to start from the beginning of the story according my brother and his friends, endeavour to read to end and please ignore jumbled words and gbagauns it's been a long day for my family.

They took a bike(Okada) after the burial to Buguma park to take a bus to Port Harcourt. When they got there they gave the okada rider 500naira to give them change, the man said he didn't have change and they should look for change themselves, they started arguing if they are the ones who should look for change for him then the person in charge of loading buses at the park came and wanted to slap one of them, they started asking him what did they do that he will just come to slap them, he didn't even ask the story he just took his phone and called the police that "cultists have come from Port Harcourt to cause trouble" immediately the police came to the park with their Hilux and rusted cutlass and started flogging them from the park, pulled their trousers, handcuffed them, threw them on the floor of their Hilux and drove off, when they got to their station they came down and started shooting bullets in the air and displaying,they beat them and sent them to the anti-cultism police in port harcourt....

They asked them to write statements which they did but it was torn and they were tortured and forced by the IPO Alex to sign statement written by the police which said they were cultists and they refused but one of the boys with my brother who he said they know from school, Franklin Ordu later confessed to being a cultist after all the beatings.

 My brother said they saw lots of people there, there was even a 13year old boy there they took from Buguma to Port Harcourt and they haven't contacted his parents for 2 weeks, he couldn't get his name but he said they call him "small", another guy came to the station to make enquiry of someone that was arrested and they also grabbed him and threw him inside cell too because he had tattoo and was on dreadlocks. There were others there who haven't contacted their parents for 3 months and they all have the same story of being picked up for nothing by these monsters...

When we went there this morning, we weren't even allowed to go in with our phones, the investigating Police Officer in charge of the case, one Alex (I couldn't get the surname but he said he's from Benin) had already started scaring my dad to give them 20,000 or they would send my Brother's name to the school authorities and he would be rusticated, my dad had to drop 20,000 first then they asked us to come back on Thursday, they were not even saying anything about the 150,000 again, they were just scaring us so as to increase the money. I had to leave the station, then I sent the mail to Madam Stella and not too long after she posted and calls started coming in. One Emeka sent me his Uncle's number who is the First PRO in Lagos, I called and explained to him, he said he had to talk to an officer there to get some information to know what step to take next. To even talk to someone in charge was an issue, one inspector Godwin Miima told me to give him 2,000 to allow me take my phone inside to speak with the person in charge, which I did, when I went in, I was told the OC (main person in charge wasn't around) , was directed to the second person (the 2 IC) this man was lying that my brother has already confessed to being a cultist and he can't speak with anybody and I should come back tomorrow to meet the OC.

 I met the IPO Alex. he told me same that he is not competent to receive calls and left, it was already evening and my dad had already gone back home crying that my brother will spend more days in the cell, I had to call him to come back and not lose hope yet.

I went to the Ministry of Justice at the state Secretariat where I serve, it's close to the SOS police station where my brother and his friends were. I met my boss, the State Solicitor-General, I complained to her and she sent me to the DPP (public prosecutor) who I was trying to explain to but he didn't even want to hear any of it, they are already criminals in his eyes, I even met the same Alex who is the IPO and he was shouting at me saying he has already spoken to my dad, and in his words "what am I, (a woman) still doing running about, that I am going to complicate matters, that they will take them to court on Thursday and if they court finds them not guilty they will be acquitted. 

I had to leave that office seeing that I won't get any help from there as they are the prosecutors of the state. If not for God who did his work through this blog, I don't know what would have been our story, my brother said even when the man in charge(OC) of the anti cult unit saw him and his 3 friends, he asked the other officers "this ones too do they look like cultists to you?? " yet they refused to release them.

For those wondering why I didn't go and seek for bail on his behalf since I'm a lawyer, we were told that cult suspects are not given bail and if we tried to tow that lane, my brother will remain there until a judge decides to hear the matter and who knows when that will be?? . Also there is this known rift between lawyers and the police, I went there on my black and white and they were acting so aggressive to me, moving me up and down and to crown it all, I'm a woman(smallish sef) one even said what am I still moving up and down when they have already talked to my dad. My dear, you won't know how it feels until these monsters get you...moving on...

I received lots of calls today, a lady whose Uncle is the ICC Chairman of Buguma called me and also forwarded to her uncle and she kept calling until we were able to learn that they have been released. even international numbers were calling and forwarding the story to their contacts, A deputy Commissioner from another state called too. The message was forwarded to the commissioner of Police in Rivers State. We had already left there as it was dark, with the plan of going back there tomorrow morning when we got a call from my brother that they've been released. 

The power of social media!!!! I won't ever underestimate it.

I just want that say a big thank you to you Mrs Korkus and your kind hearted blog visitors who swung into action to help my family. God will bless you all richly, my dad also extends his thanks to you all, in his words "that is why it's good to go to school".

Please I want to also plead with you to help us see how we can bring these power drunk monsters to book and get freedom and if possible, justice, for all those who have been taken away from their homes and family without any proof, especially that 13YEAR OLD BOY taken from his home in Buguma and brought to Port Harcourt. we all know Rivers State is not safe but going around and hijacking helpless young men because of the way they dress or look and keeping them for months without informing their parents isn't the proper way to show that they are working, from what I've seen and heard today, we all in Rivers State are not safe at all and these are same people who are supposed to protect us.

For those who asked for my twitter, it is @MamaKay. I just reactivated it tonight after so long and will post the story there let us get it trending to hasten the release of the others behind bars, my brother has been released but I won't stop there because there are other innocents like him there who have no one to help them.

I attached pictures of my brother and his friends and the injuries 2 of them sustained on their back from the beatings(PS, he said if the injury leaves mark on their back and it's seen by any police man, they will call them cultist because of the scar as that is one of their signs). The young man on shorts is the one who's grand mother's burial they went for, him and the one on black shirt and trouser are limping but in all, we thank God they are back home with their family.

Thank you all once again, longlive SDK!!!.

Peace Asoka, for the Jumbo family.

God bless everyone who helped free these boys....They seem to be in shock from these photos but they will be fine.