Follow Us on Google
From Okwe Obi, Isaac Anumihe, Abuja
Women Advocates for Responsible Governance (WARG), Women for Justice and Institutional Integrity (WJII), Coalition of Patriotic Nigerian Women (CPNW), and National Women Alliance for Rule of Law (NWARL), have told Tracy Ohiri, to provide evidence contractual agreement in a N24.5 million deal involving the Minister of Works, Dave Umahi.
Also, at a joint press conference yesterday in Abuja, they called for a strict adherence to due process over allegations circulating against the the former governor of Ebonyi State.
This is even as they described Ohiri’s accusations as lacking documentary backing and urged Nigerians to allow the courts determine the facts.
WARG National President, Amina Yusuf, said the organisations were compelled to speak out because of what she described as an attempt to weaponise unverified claims.
Yusuf said: “We are outraged not because a woman spoke, but because reckless allegations are being amplified to destabilise governance without proof.
“Nearly ten years later, there is no contract, no invoice trail, no formal demand letter, no court filing. Instead, we are presented with emotional videos. Governance is not theatre.”
She questioned why, if the claim was genuine, there had been no documented effort at civil recovery or legal action in the immediate years following the alleged transaction.
“Public discourse must not replace legal procedure,” she added.
Echoing that position, WJII Executive Director, Halimat Bello, stressed that institutional credibility rests on proof and process.
“The minimum threshold of commercial credibility has not been met. A transaction of N24.5 million cannot exist without documentation.
“If such supply truly occurred, where is the acknowledgment? Where is the procurement structure? Where is the civil recovery suit?,” she questioned.
Bello warned that emotional narratives should not overshadow legal standards, noting that sensational approaches risk eroding public trust in legitimate grievances.
From a national interest perspective, CPNW Boss, Folake Adeyemi, described the allegation as inconsistent with established commercial practice.
“It is implausible that a multi-million naira supply would proceed without written agreement, advance payment, arbitration, legal notice, or litigation for nearly a decade,” she said. “If this were purely about debt recovery, the appropriate legal remedies would have been pursued long ago.”
Adeyemi cautioned that distractions rooted in unproven claims could undermine focus at a time when critical infrastructure projects are ongoing under the supervision of the Works Ministry.
On her part, Dr Grace Onuoha of NWARL drew attention to the constitutional implications of trying allegations in the court of public opinion.
“Public officials are accountable, but accountability must follow lawful procedure,” Onuoha said. “File a claim. Submit documentation. Present evidence. Allow judicial determination. Nigeria cannot operate on viral verdicts.”
The four organisations maintained that their intervention was guided by principle rather than personality. They reaffirmed the presumption of innocence and called on Nigerians to resist what they termed “trial by ambush” or reputational warfare conducted outside established legal channels.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) has confirmed that Ohiri has been remanded at Keffi Correctional Centre in compliance with Case No. CR/12/2026, by Magistrate Court 7.
In a statement, the court ordered that the defendant be detained pending the perfection of her bail conditions.
In line with the valid remand order and commitment warrant duly issued by the court, officers of NCoS took steps to convey the defendant to custody in Keffi, as required by law and specified in the warrant.
However, the NCoS officers were frustrated by certain disgruntled individuals including persons identifying themselves as civil society actors, who obstructed the officers from carrying out their lawful duty of conveying the defendant to the Keffi Correctional Centre.
According to NCoS, despite repeated explanations and appeals for understanding, the group insisted that the defendant would not be moved, thus preventing the movement of the defendant to the said correctional centre same day.
“The defendant was later taken to a nearby police station for safe and protective custody for the night.
In the morning of the following day, being February 27, 2026, when NCoS officers resumed efforts to move the defendant from the police station to the custodial centre in compliance with the subsisting court order, the same obstruction reccurred by the same group. During this process, Ohiri, purporting to have taken ill, was immediately transported to a nearby hospital for urgent medical attention” the agency said, adding that it was at the hospital that the situation escalated significantly, as the crowd, invited by these actors, increased in number and intensified their efforts to prevent the lawful movement of the defendant.
“Very senior officers, including a group of doctors from the service who were dispatched from the service headquarters to douse the situation were subjected to verbal abuse, harassment, and open ridicule while attempting to discharge their statutory responsibilities. This, the management, said, is an obvious act of disobedience to lawful order and obstruction of justice.
“The service has also noted reports in circulation alleging that the detention documentation was irregularly processed, forged and manipulated. These allegations are entirely false, misleading, unfounded and aimed at distracting attention from the obvious act of disobedience to lawful order and the incitement of the public. The ‘Warrant of Commitment to Prison on Remand’ and the ‘Order to Reproduce Prisoner’ were duly issued and signed by the same court and magistrate; a court of competent jurisdiction, and processed in accordance with established legal and administrative procedures. At no time was any document forged, altered, or manipulated. The service operates strictly within the confines of lawful court directives and maintains verifiable custody records subject to institutional oversight” the agency, said.
Recall that Ohiri accused the Minister of Works, Engineer David Umahi of owing her over N300 million, a case that escalated to a court case.
