One of the detained workers of former First Lady, Patience Jonathan, has claimed that her husband, Jonathan, is aware of their prolonged detention over a missing piece of jewellery but refused to intervene.
A report claimed that Patience has kept 15 of her domestic staff locked up in Bayelsa State’s Okaka Correctional Centre since 2019 over an unproven case of robbery.
Naijaonpoint learnt that the workers have allegedly been rotting behind bars without a court conviction, as their trial has been repeatedly stalled on the orders of the influential former First Lady.
One of the domestic workers who spoke with SaharaReporters said several respected figures from Bayelsa State had approached the former President to plead for their release, but he allegedly dismissed the appeal after realising none of them were from his state.
The victim also alleged that Jonathan’s former Chief Security Officer, Collins Otutu, was responsible for overseeing their torture.
The source said, “Some years back, while the case had not stayed for this long, some well-meaning persons from Bayelsa State made several efforts to go and beg Patience Jonathan for peace, but she refused.
“These same persons also approached Goodluck, but he asked them if there were any persons among us that were from Bayelsa State. They told him none of them was from his state, and that was how he kept quiet about the whole thing up till now. Initially, we really thought he wasn’t aware that his wife locked up some persons.
“This is coupled with the fact that it was his Chief Security Officer, Collins Otutu, who oversaw and partook in our torture then. He was an ASP at the time. We felt really bad because he was appointed a peace ambassador and had been travelling around African countries to advocate for peace and freedom.”