PUNCH
Sixty-year-old Clinton Kanu, who hails from Ndinwafor in the Okigwe Local Government Area of Imo State, tells CHUKWUDI AKASIKE his challenges after he was wrongfully convicted and jailed for 27 years before he was released
How has life been since you were released from prison?
It has not been easy. I will sincerely tell you that both the federal and the state governments are aware that I was discharged and acquitted. The world is also aware that the court freed me because it found out that I did not commit any crime. I got calls from different parts of the world. I was sentenced to death and was discharged by the Supreme Court. From that time (April 2019) till this moment, no government has given me a grain of rice. None of them has tried to give me an appointment. They are just adamant and have given the impression that they never heard anything like that.
What they (the governments) are busy doing is empowering militants and hooligans that go about with guns and money in billions of naira. A young man who they conspired against and got sentenced to death but was later released was not considered for anything. Former President (Muhammadu) Buhari could not do anything. (Emeka) Ihedioha, who was the governor of Imo State at that, even when they didn’t allow me to reach him, I sent a letter to him, telling him that there was no need to take him and the state government to court and that all I wanted was an appointment so that I could have (my) daily bread.
Frankly speaking, nothing stops me from becoming a militant. I have shown that I am a responsible Nigerian. For the past four years, even during the COVID-19 period, none of them gave me a grain of rice. My survival came from somebody very far from my state who heard my story and asked me from time to time to go and minister the word of God to people and give testimony about what I went through while in prison.
Are you saying that you have not been employed since 2019 you were released from prison?
None of them (the federal and state governments) have given me a job. The state has not. I went to court and later withdrew my case from the court. I told them to give me an appointment. I never asked them for any money. Did the Federal Government not hear it? They heard it; the world heard it. In fact, over the radio, the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria aired it. They kept me at Modotel that time and I answered them for two hours. This was a man, after 27 years of colossal damage to his life, despite his capacity and courage to stay in prison and acquire more education up to a doctoral level, the government did not find me worthy of compensation. Did they give money to somebody and that person did not give it to me? I don’t know.
Can you recall the circumstance that led to your imprisonment?
I was imprisoned because I went to settle a dispute that happened in the compound of my in-laws (in Imo State). That was all; they said I was taking sides. I did not know what happened after because I was based in Enugu State. So, whether they fought or murdered anybody, I did not know; the fact remains that I never knew what transpired later. Later, when I returned to the village, they said I had come back again and would help my in-laws while I was only trying to make peace. After making that peace, I went my way and forgot about them. My sister is married somewhere in that village and my sister’s husband was supposed to be the chief, but he was too young to be given the chieftaincy title at that time and some people thought that I would have been instrumental in the emergence of my sister’s husband as the holder of the chieftaincy title. A group of people conspired and roped me into a matter I knew nothing about. Whenever I remember that, I get annoyed.
You said you were accused of killing somebody; who was the person that was murdered and for what reason?
For me, I never saw or knew the person that was purportedly murdered. I was told he was a brother to my in-laws.
