The Association of Umudiana Ndi Nnewi Movement, Anambra State chapter, at the weekend, said the continued detention of Dr Patrick Ifeanyi Ubah by the operatives of the Directorate of State Services (DSS) would be interpreted as a deliberate slight on the Igbo, if he is not immediately released unconditionally pending whatever investigations security agencies wanted to make.
In a statement issued by the association with Prince Iwuchukwu Victor as president and Comrade Ejiofor Igboegwu, secretary, respectively, it said that it was unfortunate that Dr Ubah’s contributions to the economic development of Nigeria through creation of employment for thousands of Nigerians could so easily be forgotten by the powers that be.
It said Ifeanyi Ubah never deserved the treatment he was being given by his accusers.
The association recalled that on various occasions, Dr Ubah had intervened to avert fuel scarcity in Nigeria to show his patriotism. It said the action of keeping Ubah out of circulation through detention could be an underground plot and conspiracy to tarnish the image of the oil magnet by those who were worried about his progress in business.
“We seek justice for the CEO of Capital Oil and Gas Limited, Dr Ifeanyi Ubah who on so many occasions as an oil magnet turned out to be a Messiah to fuel consumers at the time of acute fuel scarcity, especially in the entire South East. He is a philanthropist to the core. And from what is happening around him now it is crystal clear that this is pure intimidation and harassment to the Igbo in general. The harassment is unacceptable to us,” the statement read.
It said it could not come to terms why the DSS should continue to detain Ubah without trial, if allegations against him were true. It noted that since what brought about the matter in the first place was a business transaction between Dr Ubah and NNPC, that the case needed not to be criminalized.
The association appealed to the Ohaneze Ndigbo leadership, youth associations, human right groups and students union associations to rise to the occasion and ensure that Dr Ubah was set free, unconditionally.
Source – The Sun
