A telecommunication maintenance engineer, David Nwawuisi, has revealed that he got an initial payment of N150,000 to install a Radio Biafra transmitter on an MTN mast in Ngwo, Enugu State.
The 29-year-old, who was on the payroll
of Ericsson, the firm managing mast sites for MTN, revealed this in a
statement which he made to the Department of State Services on July 27,
2015.
Nwawuisi, who disclosed that he was managing 45 MTN sites for Ericsson, said the Radio Biafra
transmitter had operated for three months on MTN mast before it was
discovered and his subsequent arrest by the DSS on July 15, 2015.
Nwawuisi, who obtained a B.Sc degree in
Biochemistry from the Enugu State University of Science and Technology
in 2010, said he was being paid N73,000 plus per month by Ericsson.
He stated that it was the same amount he was being paid as a trainee when he joined the company as a trainee in 2014.
He narrated how he was contacted by one
Chidiebere Onwudiwe, whom the Federal Government said was at large, and
one Obioma, to seal the deal for the installation of the transmitter at
the mast site.
Nwawuisi stated, “I came to know about
Chidiebere and Obioma one day the security woman called me to tell me
that that they will like to install a radio ( transmitter) on one of my
sites at Ngwo in Enugu State and I told them that I don’t know who they
are that if they can make out time so that we can see face to face
because I don’t know them and that was in May.
“So the next day, they called me. I was
working in one of my sites at St. Michael Catholic Church Asata in Enugu
State. I asked them to come down to that site and that was the place I
saw them for the first time and they introduced themselves as Chidiebere
and Obioma. They also asked for my name and I said David. They also
asked for my native name and I said Chukwugozie and from there
Chidiebere started saying that the radio (transmitter) they are asking
for my permission to install in my site is to help them educate our
people (Igbo) and let them know their brothers and where they come
from….
“They called me again to remind me of
that and that was when I told them ok and we agreed that they are going
to be paying N25,000 only per month which they paid six months upfront.
N75,000 cash was given to me that day they came for the installation and
out of that I gave N5,000 to the security woman. The balance was paid
into my account at Ecobank after the First Bank (account) I gave to
Obioma failed to accept the payment.
“The payment of the balance was done two
weeks after the installation of the radio (transmitter). On three
different occasions, Chidiebere and Obioma called me to do some
maintenance on the radio (transmitter). I gave them access into the site
and left and when they finished, the security woman informed me that
they are through and I came and locked the site.
“The items Chidiebere came (with) were
an electronic that looks like a decoder and a DSTV dish which was
installed on the fence. The other items were installed inside the MTN
site shelter. The equipment has been there for three months and on July
15 the MTN staff went to the site and called me from the site and asked
me what the equipment is. The name of the MTN staff is Mr. John Ibekwe.
When he was calling, I couldn’t get what he was asking due to the
environment because I was driving and when I parked, I called the
security woman to ask her and she told me that is the equipment that
Chidiebere and Obioma installed that his asking of.
“I called back the MTN man to tell him
what the equipment is for, that is a Radio Biafra (transmitter) that was
installed by Chidiebere and Obioma. I told him that I will like to see
him which he asked be to come to Shoprite and I came and after I was
taken to the MTN office by the MTN security patrol team. From the
office, after telling them how the equipment came about and how I got to
know about Chidiebere, I was taken to Enugu DSS office.” (sic)
He stated that the MTN thereafter uninstalled the Radio Biafra transmitter.
He added that the last time he spoke with Chidiebere on the telephone was when he was at the DSS office in Enugu.
The Federal Director of Public
Prosecutions, Mr. Mohammed Diri, who signed the fresh charges, the case
summary and other processes accompanying them on behalf of the
government, alleged that Nwawuisi agreed to install the transmitters
“and did install IPOB radio transmitters on MTN masts for a
consideration.”
The prosecution alleged that the
transmitters were smuggled into Nigeria by the leader of the Indigenous
People of Biafra, Mr. Nnamdi Kanu, and were discovered during a search
in Madubugwu’s residence.
The Federal Government had charged
Nwawuisi and Benjamin Madubugwu along with the founder of Radio Biafra
and Kanu, with treason and other related offences including management
and assisting in the management of an unlawful society (IPOB).
The accused persons were charged with six counts before the Federal High Court in Abuja but have yet to be arraigned.
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