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PORT HARCOURT, Nigeria (CHATNEWSTV) — The family of Barrister Kevin Okorie, a lawyer from Ebonyi State, is pleading for information on his whereabouts after his detention by the Nigerian Navy over three months ago, with no formal charges or updates on his status.
According to a Facebook by Gloria Worlu, Barrister Okorie was reportedly summoned to a meeting at the Navy’s Iwofe base in Port Harcourt on Sept. 10, 2024. His wife said he called the next day, stating he was returning home accompanied by naval officials, but he never arrived. Attempts to contact him later that day were unsuccessful.
On Sept. 12, his wife visited the naval base, where officials initially told her to report him as missing to the police.
“I refused because my husband told me he was in their custody,” she said.
According to her, she later received a call from Okorie using a naval officer’s phone, confirming he was being held. While she was allowed to deliver food to him, she was never permitted to see him directly.
The situation escalated when the Navy denied his presence at the base during a subsequent visit by human rights advocates and members of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA). The family was then informed that Okorie had been transferred to Abuja without explanation.
“If he committed any crime, he should be charged to court,” his wife said during a protest at the naval base. “I spoke to him and brought him food twice here—who ate the food if he wasn’t here?”
The NBA and human rights groups have filed petitions demanding transparency in Okorie’s case. His community has also called for his immediate release or a formal charge if wrongdoing is alleged.
Okorie’s wife, who suffers from partial blindness, says her family is struggling in his absence. “Our children keep asking for their father. We don’t know if he is alive or dead,” she said.
The Navy has not publicly commented on the case. Efforts to reach naval representatives for a statement were unsuccessful.
As of Dec. 26, 2024, Okorie’s whereabouts remain unknown, prompting growing concerns about his safety and calls for accountability.
For more information or to offer assistance, please contact his wife at 08063764883
Editor: Gabriel Ani
