A lecturer with the Joseph Sarwuan Tarka University of Agriculture Makurdi (JOSTUM), Benue State, Dr Ichor Smart who was arrested for allegedly masterminding the abduction of wife of the institution’s chairman of Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Mrs Susan Anyagh has described the claim as false.
Ichor who was released after spending over a month in police custody, in a statement made available to LEADRSHIP on Friday, said the allegations by wife Mrs Anyagh which led to his incarceration was fabricated to silence him for calling on her husband to account for the funds meant for families of deceased JOSTUM lecturers.
Ichor recalled that, “A meeting of the ASUU JOSTUM Branch was slated to hold on the 5th December, 2024, on a Thursday morning, so I posted the dates of withdrawals, cheque numbers, amounts and names of the serial accredited perennial borrowers from the welfare account on the wider University WhatsApp group ‘JOSTUM Community’ for the University community to see the stealing that has been going on.
“In the meeting Dr Anyagh announced that he was going to end posting of ASUU issues on University platforms other than ASUU. On the 7th December, 2024; a day after I was allegedly present at the scene of the kidnap of the Chairperson’s wife calling kidnappers to kill her.”
LEADERSHIP recalls that the Benue State Police Command had last year arrested Dr Tersagh for allegedly masterminding the abduction of Mrs Susan Anyagh, the wife of JOSTUM chapter Chairman of ASUU, Paul Anyagh.
Mrs Anyagh had in a statement after regaining consciousness narrated that she saw Dr Tersagh close to where she was abducted, and beckoned on him to save her life but the lecturer turned his back away from her. She also claimed that she heard Ichor telling kidnappers on phone to kill her.
Ichor who responded to the allegations described seeing him at the scene of kidnap as falsehood carelessly crafted by the couple and a few colleagues in the University to misinform the public and tarnish his hard-earned image.
Ichor said he was away for an engagement in his village at Ikurav Tiev 2 in Katsina-Ala and was not close to Makurdi where the incident was said to have happened throughout that weekend.
The university lecturer further narrated that he had left Makurdi for Katsina-Ala on Friday 6th December, 2024 in company of the state’s Commissioner for ICT and Digital Economy, Hon. Kwaghgba Amande; the Executive Secretary, Benue State Universal Basic Education Board, Dr. Joseph Jande, as well as the President General, Ikurav Tiev Development Association, Terlumun Orhembetyoga, among others, for burial of their kinsman late, Mr. Shen Agbo which held between 6th and 7th December, 2024.
“I couldn’t have duplicated myself to be at the scene of the imaginary kidnap of Mrs Anyagh and at the same be at the burial in my village on the same day, the distance from Makurdi to my village notwithstanding” he emphasised.
He further disclaimed making calls to the kidnappers to kill the victim, disclosing that police had during their investigations traced his phones “and established that I did not make or receive any call throughout that Saturday, 7th December, 2024.
“We left very early to the burial and upon arrival, there was limited network and the battery of my phone drained in the course of the burial. I was also nominated by our church in the village, NKST Abo for award at her 30th anniversary as a consistory. So I stayed all the weekend within Katsina-Ala axis,” he stated.
The lecturer also called on the police to release the report of investigation to the public. “I have upon return from an unusually long incarceration by the Nigerian Police Force Makurdi command read a lot of misleading stories from social media, press release from the Makurdi police command and several other write ups from well-meaning people who genuinely know me and what I am capable of doing.
“Let me make it crystal clear to everyone who cares to know that the allegation by Susan Anyagh, that she saw me at the scene of her kidnap is a hallucinated fabrication, a falsehood that she carelessly crafted in cahoots with the husband and a few of my colleagues in the University to misinform the public and tarnish my hard earned and established impeccable integrity and image.”
Ichor who further claimed that he was mercilessly beaten by police operatives, said his left foot was fractured while four of his toes were dislocated as revealed by X-ray.
The university lecturer regained freedom after his release by the Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID), Abuja after investigations.
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