By Uche Mbah
Released Nollywood Actor, Chinwetalu Agu was seen Friday still wearing the same apparel for which he was, obviously, arrested by the Army on Thursday, October 7, 2021.
The Nigerian Army unconditionally released Agu after news of his arrest and the attendant outcry against it went viral on social media.
He was arrested by Soldiers at the popular Upper Iweka area, Onitsha while he was, according to him, on a Charity Drive. He said he bought loaves of bread worth the sum of ten thousand Naira which he was distributing to the less privileged when the soldiers accosted and arrested him.
But in a statement signed by Army Spokesman, Brigadier-General Onyema Nwachukwu, the Army said it arrested Agu because he was seen recruiting people to join the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra, IPOB.
On release, Agu said what he was wearing had nothing to do with either IPOB or it’s militant wing, the Eastern Security Network, ESN, but a material with the insignia of a rising sun.
No charge was officially made against him, but what he was wearing fuelled speculations that he was defiantly pro-Biafra.
Critics of the military argued that even Sheik Gumi, who was seen taking photographs with bandits and rising to their defense, was not arrested by anybody.
In a statement posted Friday on the Actors Guild of Nigeria’s Instagram page, the Guild said he was released Friday morning.
“The National President of the Actors Guild of Nigeria, Ejezie Emeka Rollas, has secured the release of actor Chiwetalu Agu from the custody of the Nigerian Army”, the statement said.
“The Senior Special Assistant on Military Affairs and Inter-Governmental Relations to the President of the Guild, Steve Eboh, who confirmed Agu’s release from the Army Barracks in Enugu thanked the High Command of the Nigerian Army for their cooperation and understanding in the matter.
“The National President also commended the efforts of the leadership of the pan Igbo socio-cultural group, Ohanaeze Ndigbo for their collaborative efforts on the matter.”
The AGN President denied making any statement on the arrest previously but instead advised the public to disregard any report in that line.
Agu was released to two representatives of the AGN.
