Njoku Edmond Uzoma, a Nigerian living in Gabon, has filed a petition against one of the Consular Officers at the Nigeria Embassy in Gabon for allegedly holding his wife hostage for reasons unknown to him.

The petition, titled “Re: Complaint Against the Consular Officer in Nigeria Embassy in Gabon for gross human rights violation and unprofessional conduct against a citizen, Njoku Edmond Uzoma,” was signed on behalf of the Uzoma family by Kingsley Akpoguma, and a copy was made available to Benin newsmen.

Kingsley Akpoguma addressed his petition to the Executive Secretary of the National Human Rights Commission on September 23, 2022.

“I write on behalf of Citizen Njoku Edmond Uzoma, who lives in Gabon, to inform the Human Rights Commission of his ordeals at the hands of the Consular Officer in Gabon,” it said.

“His problem began when, as a result of Gabon’s economic downturn, he asked his wife to accompany him to Nigeria until he was able to recover and bounce back financially.”

“Mr. Njoku’s wife ran to the Consular Officer after he purchased her ticket to file a complaint against her husband for asking her to travel to Nigeria.”

“Mr. Njoku was invited by the Consular Officer, and when he arrived, he was told that his wife cannot travel to Nigeria against her will, and that his wife requires medical attention.”

“Mr. Njoku informed the Consular and others present that the wife has no medical condition; at that point, Mr. Njoku advised the wife that they should go home, but the Consular Officer informed him that his wife could not accompany him home for security reasons.”

They took his wife to Doris Clinic, where she was admitted to the hospital. He was told to pay a bogus hospital bill. Mr. Njoku’s wife, who was detained by the Gabonese immigration service for repatriation to Nigeria for which the husband had purchased a new ticket, was fraudulently smuggled to an unknown hotel under the guise that the Ambassador had ordered it without the husband’s knowledge.

“Mr Njoku’s wife was scheduled to depart on July 4, 2022.” Mr Njoku has no idea where his wife is staying or, more importantly, whether she is staying at the Consular Officer’s residence.

“The Consular Officer, who is said to be a lord unto himself in Gabon, has a habit of taking the wives of young men.”

He is said to have repeatedly threatened Mr. Njoku that if he does not forget about his wife, something bad will happen to him.