By Ayodele Oni
A human rights lawyer and activist, Marshal Abubakar, has accused Ms Tracy Ohiri of having no evidence concerning her allegations against the Minister of Works, Dave Umahi.
Ohiri had accused the Minister of owing her about N250 million contract debt and harassing her sexually.
Based on this, she was arraigned for defamation and granted bail amid claims of a missing case file and alleged attempts to transfer her to prison.
However, the Activist Lawyer accused Ohiri of spreading falsehood concerning her dispute with Umahi.
Abubakar, insisted that he and different activists performed a key position in stopping Ohiri from being jailed through the controversy.
The lawyer mentioned he rallied outstanding activists and public figures to help Ohiri on the peak of the dispute, emphasising that their intervention was geared toward safeguarding free speech.
He mentioned Senator Ireti Kingibe, activist Martins Otse (VeryDarkMan), and former presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore, alongside different campaigners.
“My attention has been drawn to the falsehood being spewed by Ms Tracy Ohiri,” Abubakar mentioned.
“Indeed, the fact that you helped a viper out of a ditch doesn’t stop the snake from biting you. It’s an undeniable fact that I was the person that rallied public-spirited individuals like Distinguished Senator Ireti Kingibe, VeryDarkMan, Comrade Omoyele Sowore, FlagboyNg, Comrade Larry and several other comrades to her aid.
“It was on account of our continuous activism that Ms Ohiri is not in prison today,”Abubakar mentioned.
Abubakar disclosed that he led a staff of activist legal professionals to secure bail for Ohiri in courtroom, regardless of what he described as efforts to have her remanded in jail.
According to him, Senator Kingibe tried to mediate between Ohiri and Umahi, however the minister maintained that he was not indebted to her.
“I spoke to Senator Umahi with Mummy Ireti’s phone and he was adamant. He promised he would exhaust the full judicial process to clear his name and promised to pay her in ten folds, if the court ruled that he owes her, but unless that, she would face the full wrath of the law.”
Abubakar mentioned he subsequently mentioned the scenario with Ohiri and offered her with two choices: proceed the authorized combat or discover settlement.
“When I spoke with her, I explained the entire situation to her and explained that she has two options; she either fights on or explores settlement. If she elects to fight on, we would fight with her, but she must provide necessary evidence on core issues.”
The lawyer claimed that his overview of the case revealed no concrete proof supporting Ohiri’s claims.
“I discovered that there was no single real evidence of any contractual agreement between her and the minister, that there was no evidence that the minister ever engaged her to do any contract and that there was no evidence that the minister ever informed her that what happened to the NELAN Engineers would happen to her,” Abubakar acknowledged.
He additionally alleged that Ohiri failed to supply proof of delivering items as claimed.
Abubakar mentioned a follow-up assembly involving legal professionals, associates of the minister, and Ohiri resulted in a stalemate after tensions escalated.
“We had a follow-up meeting with the minister’s lawyer, Mr Abdul SAN, the minister’s friend Barrister Joseph Ekumankama, Senator Ireti, Ms Tracy, her husband and I, Marshal Abubakar, in attendance.
“The meeting ended in a stalemate. Ms Ohiri has a terrible temper and manner; she threw tantrums and insults at everyone in that meeting, thus it ended on a sour note. We all left.”
He alleged that Ohiri later apologised and sought additional help after the assembly collapsed.
The lawyer additionally claimed {that a} sum of $70,000 was offered by an affiliate of the minister, Barrister Joseph Ekumankama, as a gesture to resolve the dispute.
He insisted the fee was not compensation or an admission of legal responsibility however meant to facilitate peace .
“It was Barrister Joseph that gave me a total sum of $70,000 to give to her.
“He informed me that it’s not compensation for any contract neither was it admission that they were owing her but just for the sake of peace and my mediating approach to the issue.
“Barrister Joseph Ekumankama is still alive and can be contacted for verification,” he mentioned.
Abubakar accused Ohiri of later turning against those that supported her, alleging she demanded ₦300 million and threatened to launch an internet marketing campaign in opposition to him.
“Her anger is that I could not get ₦300,000,000 for her. I explained to her that her initial claim was for ₦25 million. ₦100million is far above that and even a court of law would most likely not award her that much, even if she could establish her claim.”
She promised to drag my name online unless I meet them to pay her ₦300,000,000 and that she had lost business thus I must be held responsible and must provide her money,” he alleged.
Expressing disappointment, the lawyer described the scenario as a “painful lesson” and hinted at attainable authorized motion.
“It’s so sad that a woman we put in our best defending, at the expense of our lives and liberty, could turn out to be this. We befriended a scorpion and got a life lesson,” he mentioned.
“I will surely appraise the situation and take appropriate legal actions against Ms Ohiri,” he added.
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