In order to secure the release of one of its kinsmen who has been detained in solitary confinement in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for six years without being given a chance to defend himself, the Umuaba Community in Imufu, Enugu-Ezike, Igbo-Eze North Local Council of Enugu State, has urged President Bola Tinubu and the National Assembly to intervene on their behalf.
Community spokesperson Augustine Abugu, who is also the detainee’s brother, claims that Jerome Abugu, 34, was detained on Sunday, March 18, 2018, in the United Arab Emirates along with another Nigerian. Since then, he has been transported to many jails and has not been seen by a lawyer or family member.
Augustine, who spoke with journalists on the matter, yesterday, narrated how Jerome was arrested and detained.
He said: “Our brother, Jerome, was arrested at Sharjah Gate Tower, Ahnada, on Sunday, March 18, 2018, and taken to a nearby police station, from where he was transferred to the Sharjah Central Prison/Jail in Abu Dhabi. Jerome was 28 years at the time of his arrest and detention.
“Since then, we have made several attempts to see him in prison without success, just as lawyers have not been able to see or talk to him.”
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On the circumstances surrounding his arrest, Augustine explained: “Jerome was staying in a house at Sharjah Gate Tower as a new person, when he was invited by his friend to escort him to a place at Ahnada Park, Sharjah, where both of them were arrested. According to the reports we heard, his friend allegedly had some illicit substances at the time of the arrest but confessed to the security agents who arrested them that Jerome was not aware that he was carrying such substances, as he was innocent.
“Later, Jerome led the security agents to the apartment where he was staying and the security men searched the place but did not recover anything. They, however, took him away and later transferred both of them to different prisons. That was the last time we heard about him or saw him.”
He begged the Federal Government to step in and obtain his release, or even to have him put on trial for whatever crime he might have committed in the UAE.
He added: “Our father, Jacob Abugu, died lamenting the detention of Jerome without trial. We are also appealing to the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), led by Abike Dabiri-Erewa, to intervene on our behalf to get this problem sorted out for Jerome to be released or tried.”
