The Imo Hoteliers Association has lodged a formal complaint with Governor Hope Uzodinma, alleging instances of physical assault, character defamation, and intimidating behavior directed towards Mr. Magnus Awarzi, one of its members.
The petition, bearing the signatures of the association’s Chairman, Mr. Chima Chukwunyere, alongside other executive members, was unveiled to journalists on Saturday in Owerri.
According to Chukwunyere, Mr. Magnus Awarzi, the Chief Executive Officer of Magnesium Hotels in Owerri, was reportedly approached by Mr. Paschal Nwakama, a former Special Assistant to the governor tasked with land recovery, regarding a suspected breach of property boundaries.
He further alleged that Nwakama, in the end, coercively extracted a sum of N1 million from Awarzi, falsely insinuating that payment would secure forgiveness from the state government for the alleged encroachment.
He also pointed out that despite Awarzi’s insistence on receiving a receipt, Nwakama refunded the money and then utilized the police to arrest and detain Awarzi on allegations of attempting to bribe him.However, following verification of his innocence, the police opted to grant Awarzi bail, contrary to the accusations leveled against him.
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Chukwunyere condemned the manner in which Awarzi was detained, asserting that Nwakama’s actions amounted to impersonating the state government, given that he and other members of the governor’s expanded executive council had been discharged from their roles prior to the incident with Awarzi.
In addition, he claimed that Nwakama’s behavior constituted a deliberate effort to defame Awarzi’s character and intimidate him, with the ultimate goal of tarnishing both Awarzi’s and the association’s reputations and credibility.
He implored Governor Uzodinma to take decisive action by initiating an investigation into the incident and working closely with pertinent law enforcement agencies to ensure that legal proceedings are instituted against Nwakama and any potential accomplices.
‘We urge the governor to investigate this report, implement stricter security measures to prevent recurrence of defamation and intimidation of our members as well as raise awareness within the government appointees about the importance of ethics in the discharge of their duties.’
‘We firmly believe that these actions are in clear violation of the law and go against the principles of justice, fairness and respect individual rights.’
‘We will pursue justice for our member in court if necessary urgent action is not taken by the governor to address this illegality, defamation of character and intimidation’, he said.
