Prof. Innocent Okonkwo on May 12, this year got a verdict from a
Federal High Court sitting in Owerri clearing him of any wrong doings
and declaring him innocent of all allegations in a matter that has
lingered for more than eight years in connections with this activities
as the Head of the Imo State premier tertiary institution.
Delivering judgement, the presiding judge said that there evidence on
the issues that brought the man to court nor any witness to testify
against the accused, and also chided the Economic and Finance Crime
Commission for wading into a case it could not prosecute. With this
last judgement Prof. Okonkwo who had obtained other earlier clearance
judgments, both at ICPC and CCT had been cleared off any stigma
associated with his tenure as the university Head even when he was
denied the right to re-instatement due to what the court called,
"effusion of time".
It would be recalled that Prof. Okonkwo's travails began in 2009 under
the administration of Dr. Ikedi Ohakim who in the bid to find excuse
to smear the image of the Vice Chancellor in order to sack him and
perhaps witch hunt the former State Chief Executive, Chief Ohakim set
up a seven man visitation panel to be headed by Hon. Justice Nsofor
who later declined the appointment without citing any reason.
With the decline of Justice Nsofor to serve in the panel, Chief Ohakim
brought his kinsmen, now late Prof. Nnamdi Asika from Mbano and three
others also from Mbano as members of the seven man panel to do the
execute the hatchet job, they included Mr. A.C. Duru who served as the
Secretary, Barr. Chidi Nwoka and Barr. Nwokorie all from Mbano.
Determined to ensure that the Orlu born Vice Chancellor was punished,
the Governor as soon as he received the hurried reports of the seven
man panel which enlisted a number of allegations against the
leadership of Prof. Okonkwo did not hesitate in involving the three
federal government anti-graft agencies, the EFCC, the ICPC and the
Code of Conduct Bureau where it was alleged that he spent huge sum to
obtain results.
While the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission and the Code of
Conduct Bureau were quick in giving clean slate judgement of "no wrong
doings" on the suspended Vice- Chancellor, the matter with the EFCC
which was the first agency to step into the matter for some obvious
reason lingered for so long.
In the first instance, Prof. Okonkwo was incarcerated at the EFCC cell
for 3 weeks before he was brought to court where for some unknown
reasons the judge refused to grant him bail and ordered for his
detention at Kuje Prisons where it was said that the erudite scholar
spent another three weeks.
However, Prof. Okonkwo went to seek redress at the court in 2011 he
obtained a judgment of no wrong doing from an Owerri High Court
presided over by Justice Nonye Okoronkwo levelled against the
applicant in the panel's report and white paper but could not order
for his re-instatement to office. Not satisfied with the judgment of
the Owerri High Court, the Imo State government went on appeal and
since abandoned the matter until the former crossed appealed the
judgment the court upheld the lower court judgment, ordering that he
be paid all his entitlement.
It was observed that the bursar who served under the tenure of Prof.
Okonkwo and who was also thrown into prison with him is today
deceased. Reacting to the recent court judgement, the elated Prof.
Innocent Okonkwo said he thanked God that this matter is over "I am
finally and thoroughly cleared of all wrong doings, "yes I spent three
weeks at EFCC and 3 weeks in Kuje Prisons but it is all over".
Grapevine Source stated that Chief Ohakim took all the tedious legal
action to get at his predecessor, Chief Achike Udenwa.
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