From George Onyejiuwa, Owerri
The Imo State Police Command has said that Prof Jachimike Adiele, the co-host of The FORUM, a public affairs programme on BOSS FM Radio, Owerri, who reportedly taken by unidentified armed men at the premises of the radio station located at the All Seasons Hotel on Saturday, was arrested by men of the state command, and not abducted.
A co-host of the FORUM programme, Miss Ijeoma Harriet, had raised the alarm on Facebook that Adiele had been abducted by unidentified gunmen.
But in a statement by the spokesperson of the Police Command, Michael Abbattam, said that Jachimike Adiele was arrested by the police over a complaint reported to the command by a lady who had alleged that the professor had collected money from Her to give her a shop at Douglas market which he never did and had also refused to refund her the said N1.2 million.
The statement reads:
“The facts are that, sometime in the month of March 2022, a lady reported a case of fraud against Prof. Jachimike Adiele at the Police Area Command Owerri, alleging that, the said professor collected the sum of one million two hundred thousand (1.2 ) naira from her with a promise to give her a shop in Douglas market. But, after some months, she discovered that there was no shop and demanded her money but could not get it hence, her report.
“On the strength of the complaint, Prof Jachimike Adiele was invited. After his statement, the Area Commander released him on bail due to his status in society. And he promised to refund the money back to the lady on 1/4/2022, but never did rather, he jumped bail. When all efforts made to reach him proved abortive, the surety was invited and he claimed not to know the whereabouts of the suspect and pleaded for time to trace him.
“Luck ran against him today (Saturday) 11/6/2022 at about 0940 hours when the surety got information that, he was in the studio presenting a programme and alerted the police. On arrival, the police were professional, they never went to the station rather, they waited until he concluded his programme presentation and was heading home when he was arrested to the station. He has since been released and on conclusion of an investigation, he will be charged to court.”