Chinedu Eze, a 43-year-old pastor with Mountain of Fire and Miracles (Worldwide), has described how he spent 14 years in prison after allegedly refusing to help the police with a case he claimed to be unaware of.
However, he claimed that through the efforts of Christ Embassy Church, out of the 996 prisoners, he obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Peace and Conflict Resolution from the National Open University of Nigeria while still incarcerated after enrolling for the Senior School Certificate Examination.
Eze claimed that he wrote seven books and approximately 157 songs while incarcerated.
Eze, an Enugu State native, reported being released on May 2, 2019.
He continued by saying that some police officers had approached him sometime in 2005 to testify as a prosecution witness in a case he was unaware of, and that they had then arrested him and sent him to the Kuje Correctional Services.
He addressed the media at the Silver Lining for The Needy Initiative’s 14th anniversary gala, a non-governmental organisation that works with vulnerable populations in Nigeria.
Hauwa Abass, the organization’s founder, promised that SLNI would keep assisting the needy and battling injustice in Nigeria.
Eze claimed that he was asked to testify against a police officer who had problems with his superiors. He expressed gratitude to the SNLI for assisting him in regaining his freedom, claiming that he had already given up before the group came to his aid.
I was imprisoned because of a situation involving a police officer who had problems with his superiors and they wanted to punish him, the man claimed. I was approached by some police officers who wanted to call me as a witness in his defence. However, I informed them that because I had no knowledge of the situation, I was unable to testify against him.
“Emmanuel Abazie, one of the police officers, warned me that I had to help them or else I would regret it. I initially believed it to be merely a threat. I had no idea that it would land me in jail. They had my file hidden when I arrived at the prison. No court, no paperwork—I stayed there for four years. I had to endure a 14-year torturous journey while I was in the process of being tried.
Eze claimed that despite being imprisoned, he did not let his situation stop him from continuing his education.
He claimed to have taken the West Africa Examinations Council’s SSCE before earning a bachelor’s degree from NOUN in peace and conflict resolution.
I earned seven credits even without English, Eze remarked. The following year, I retook the exam and received nine distinctions, including in English and Mathematics.
The National Open University and Christ Embassy visited the prison and announced that they were looking for people who were qualified and had what it took to be enrolled in the university. At the time that I was writing WAEC, I had no intention of continuing my education in the prison because there was no university, but I saw it as a providence arrangement. Of the 31, I just so happened to be one. In total, there were 996 of us in Kuje prison.
So I was accepted to study Peace and Conflict Resolution because I was one of the 31 people who met the criteria to be given a scholarship.
He emphasised the need for Nigerians to get rid of the idea that everyone serving time in prison committed a crime, but he also stated that many of the prisoners should never have been put behind bars.
“My incident occurred between 2005 and 2019,” Eze stated. When the SLNI arrived in 2017, I had already given up. I spoke with the founder, Hauwa Abass, when they arrived, and she later spoke with a member of her legal team, a Barrister Muhammad, who went to the court and found my file, which is how my file was found. Muhammad later visited the prison and informed me that my case was at this point, and we continued from there. I was released on May 2, 2019, after my encounter with them lasted roughly two years.
“There are about 70 inmates who have been found guilty when you visit the prison, but there are 900 who are still awaiting trial. When the Chief Judge visited the prison just about a month ago, a policeman who had been charged (while I was there) was freed. Because of the problems he had with them, that police officer was merely set up by his superiors, and he was held in custody for about 18 years before being tried.
While in detention, Eze began writing and composing songs, and he later revealed that he had also written about seven books.
“I have faith that I will come across individuals who will assist me in publishing one of the books, which is titled “14 Years in Prison” and is about my experience. My debut album was also released in December of the previous year. I currently have 160 songs, compared to the 157 songs I wrote while in jail.
