A former domestic worker, imprisoned since 2019 under the alleged orders of former First Lady Patience Jonathan, has reportedly revealed shocking details of the torture she and others endured during their detention
The harrowing accounts, made public through a handwritten note obtained by SaharaReporters, allege that Patience Jonathan was directly involved in and oversaw the abuse of domestic workers detained without trial since 2019. The note, written by a detainee at the Okaka Correctional Centre in Bayelsa State, claims that Jonathan personally supervised and participated in the brutal treatment.
The note details severe acts of violence, including hanging, whipping, and being beaten with sticks and machetes. The detainee claims that Patience Jonathan, dissatisfied with the police’s level of violence, ordered them to intensify the torture. “Patience Jonathan repeatedly insisted angrily that the police were not doing enough torture to her satisfaction,” the note states.
The document further claims that Jonathan took the workers to her husband’s house in Yenagoa during midnight hours, where she personally supervised their abuse, using high-heeled shoes to assault them. The note also accuses ASP Collins Otutu, Jonathan’s husband’s chief security officer, of overseeing the torture, often arriving drunk and supplying alcohol to the officers before they carried out the abuse.
This disturbing revelation adds to the controversy surrounding the detention of 15 domestic workers at the Okaka Correctional Centre, who have been held since 2019 in connection with an alleged robbery involving missing jewelry belonging to Patience Jonathan. Despite the presumption of innocence under the constitution, these workers have remained incarcerated, with their trial delayed repeatedly.
Sources familiar with the case have raised concerns about the prolonged detention. “Since 2019, former First Lady Patience Jonathan has locked up about 16 of her domestic staff in Okaka Prison without a trial,” one source said.
A relative of one of the detained workers explained that they were arrested following an alleged break-in at one of Patience Jonathan’s apartments in Otuoke. Despite the lack of evidence, the workers remain imprisoned, with the case failing to progress in court. “They keep saying they are waiting for witnesses to come forward,” the relative said.
The detained workers, who have been imprisoned for nearly six years without trial, include Williams Alami, Vincent Olabiyi, Ebuka Cosmos, John Dashe, Tamunokuro Abaku, and others.
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Never liked the shepopotemus, just imagine this wickedness from this woman. Someone would think the whole family doesn’t know about this. Kudos to the hero of our time