Chime Bundles Wife out of Enugu Government House

The drama over the detention of Mrs. Clara
Chime, wife of the Enugu State Governor,
Sullivan Chime, entered another chapter
Sunday when the governor, with the
assistance of security operatives, sent her
packing from the Enugu Government House.
Mrs. Chime’s personal effects were packed for
her by the governor and his security detail,
and she was forcibly taken out of the
Government House to her mother’s residence
at House 38, Coal City Estate, Enugu.
Mrs. Chime, who THISDAY gathered struggled
to depart with her four-year-old son, was
bundled into a convoy of six cars and taken to
her mother’s home.
However, on getting there, the mother who had
not been notified that her daughter was being
brought home, was not at home which forced
Mrs. Chime and the security operatives to sit
in their cars waiting for her mother to return.
After waiting for close to two hours, the
governor, who was obviously embarrassed
that news of his wife’s eviction had leaked and
was attracting journalists who rushed to the
mother’s estate, ordered that Mrs. Chime be
brought back to the Government House.
However, he still intends to evict his wife today
and hand her over directly to her mother.
THISDAY learnt that the governor took the
decision to drive away his wife because she
had petitioned the National Human Rights
Commission (NHRC) over her confinement in
the Government House against her wish.
Mrs. Chime, who had admitted suffering from
a nervous breakdown over what she alleged
was as a result of her husband’s maltreatment
of her, was however projected by the governor
last week as someone who is mentally
unstable requiring the administration of drugs
by a doctor she does not trust and her
confinement in her bedroom.
Meanwhile, the NHRC yesterday said it had not
conducted any medical investigation to
determine the mental health of Mrs. Chime.
A statement by NHRC said the commission
was yet to reach a determination on the
petition received from the governor’s wife.
The commission said: “The complaint is
currently being investigated and will be
subjected to the commission’s Rules of
Procedure. The commission is a credible
national institution that will never be biased or
compromised in case management or any
matter before the commission.”
NHRC said it became necessary for it to
address the press on Friday November 8, in
respect of the complaint received from Mrs
Chime because it had attracted considerable
media attention and generated a lot of public
interest.
“The purpose of the briefing was to inform
Nigerians that the commission’s team of
investigators visited Enugu and held a meeting
with the complainant and her husband and is
taking further investigative steps in respect of
the matter.
“The commission wishes to place it on the
record that it has never claimed to have
established that Mrs. Chime has health
challenges. It was clearly stated during the
meeting with the press that the issue of Mrs.
Chime’s health status came up in the course of
investigation and it was mutually agreed that
the commission constitutes an independent
medical team to evaluate the true state of her
health.
“The NHRC has no form of medical
competence to establish the health status of
Mrs Chime or any other person. The
investigation is still on-going,” it said.
Also, the Chairman of the Governing Council of
the commission, Dr. Chidi Odinkalu, has
described allegations that the commission
might have been compromised in the conduct
of the case of the alleged illegal confinement of
Mrs. Chime as factually inaccurate and
manifestly unfounded.
Odinkalu, in a statement in Abuja, said he was
inundated with inquiries about the on-going
processes of the NHRC in relation to the
complaint initiated by Mrs. Chime.
He said since the complainant was the spouse
of a senior political office holder, the complaint
had naturally elicited somewhat fevered public
interest.
The commission’s Executive Secretary,
Professor Bem Angwe last Friday had stated
that when the commission's team interacted
with Mrs. Chime, she spoke to them fluently
and coherently, adding, “She answered all the
questions we raised in her presence as a
person who is aware of the circumstances of
her environment and the consequence of her
action.”
Angwe had however added that Mrs Chime
had admitted to suffering from depression and
“hallucinations”.
But the commission’s statement drew the ire
of Mrs. Chime who immediately made it clear
that she had never informed the officials of
NHRC that she suffered from hallucinations.
In a letter she wrote to the commission at the
weekend, she asked it to withdraw the
statement.