Anambra organ harvesting: N47m theft allegation against whistleblower a cover-up, group alleges

Civil rights advocacy group, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), yesterday, said the fresh allegation of N47 million theft against a whistleblower, Nnamdi Emeh, in an alleged organ harvesting case, involving operatives of the Anambra State Police Command is a ploy to cover up corrupt and unethical police officers.

HURIWA, in a statement by its National Coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, said the fresh accusation brought against Emeh, a National Youths Service Corps member, after he exposed the extrajudicial killings and organ harvesting allegedly committed by officers of the Command showed there’s no political will on the side of the police to press for justice in the matter.

While stressing that the Command cannot be the accused and the judge in the matter, the group, therefore, called on Anambra State Government to set up a judicial commission of inquiry to investigate the alleged organ harvesting allegations levelled against the police by the whistleblower.

On Friday, the Commissioner of Police in Anambra State, Echeng Echeng, said Emeh is in police custody, adding that his case is already before the Federal High Court.

The police commissioner accused the whistleblower of allegations of unlawful possession of firearms, money laundering, defamation of character, fraud and impersonation.

He also accused the Information Technology (IT) expert of hacking into one of Mr. Chibuike Martins Ekwueme’s accounts, alleging that he transferred N47 million to 14 different accounts.

“The fresh allegations brought against the whistleblower by the Command are not only fictitious, suspicious but spurious. How on earth would you bring allegations against someone after he uncovered an alleged organ-harvesting ring with the Command? Why was the N47m theft allegation not before now?

“We recall asking the Inspector General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba not to sweep the alleged organ harvesting case involving high-ranking members of the Anambra State Police Command under the carpet while the Command is delaying the matter for months and hesitant to investigate it.

“We also recall sounding the alarm weeks ago that the police wanted to get rid of Emeh, instead of arraigning him in court because of the ‘volume of information’ at his disposal, which could implicate several police personnel.

“Now, the police have launched its game plan. This is definitely a cover-up by the police and it shows there’s no political will on the side of the police hierarchy to clean up the Augean Stables. We opposed this sort of mechanism whereby the police are the prosecutor, the accused and the judge in this same case.

“Therefore, the entire exercise by the police probe panel is a nullity and self-help gambit. A judicial commission of inquiry by Anambra State Government is needed to be set up to investigate the alleged human organ trafficking by police in Anambra state jurisdiction,” the group added.