Governor Chime's Wife Reacts To Human Rights Commission's Report On Her Health Condition
The wife of Enugu Governor Sullivan Chime, Clara Chime, has accused National Human Rights Commission's officials of being bribed by her husband to write a misleading report about her illegal confinement in Government House, Enugu, and to portray her as a mentally disturbed person.
The executive secretary of the Commission, Mr. Bem Angwe, with other members in tow, visited the Enugu State Government House to investigate the controversial matter.
It will be recalled that Mrs. Clara Chime has been making headlines with her alleged decision to hire a renowned Nigerian attorney Femi Falana to secure her freedom, as she reportedly is 'imprisoned' in Government House, Enugu.
Members of the Commission interviewed Governor Chime, his spouse, as well as their relatives, the Governor's domestic staff, and security aides. Dr. A. Uzegu, a London-based consultant psychiatrist and forensic examiner, who is the doctor the complainant prefers, also joined the meeting through teleconference.
According to sources, Governor Chime said his wife's confinement and high security presence around her are measures to protect her privacy. Mr. Chime disclosed his wife has certain 'health issues' and violent tendencies, so he is acting at the directions of her medical doctor. The Governor also alleged that his wife might have invited some 'ritualists' into his official residence to perform some 'diabolic acts' while he was absent.
It is stated in an interim report published on the Commission's website that the Governor and his wife have not bee seeing eye to eye over the procedure for the treatment of her health challenges, which border on occasional hallucinations and depression.
The report also confirmed the fact that Mrs. Chime had spent the last several weeks in her apartment, but that was due to medical purposes and security, and she was in possession of the keys to the said apartment. Mr. Angwe added that the Commission's five-person team of investigators had inspected the apartment.
The NHRC also learnt that the Enugu's first lady was communicating with her son after his school hours.
The members of the Commission also noted that, despite her health condition, Clara Chime is conscious of her environment and related well with those she encountered.
However, reacting to the report, Mrs. Chime accused members of the Commission of accepting a bribe from her husband.
In an email, she called the information in newspapers a "complete farce and fabrication".
"The truth is that I am severely depressed because of the inhuman suffering and atrocious conditions I have been subjected to for some years now," she wrote, adding that she "had been bearing the burden hoping that this ordeal would come to an end somehow but the end seems endless, hence my crying out."
She described her husband's "protection" as "all window dressing," explaining she was "only suffering from depression because of all that she has been subjected to."
"I am not mad as he seems to convey. There is no family history of serious mental illness in my family and would challenge him by bringing an independent psychiatrist to assess or evaluate my mental state to prove my point."
