A 43-year-old pastor with Mountain of Fire and Miracles (Worldwide), Chinedu Eze, has revealed how he was detained in prison for 14 years following his alleged refusal to cooperate with police on an issue he claimed he had no knowledge about.
He, however, said that while in prison, he enrolled for the Senior School Certificate Examination and bagged a Bachelor’s degree in Peace and Conflict Resolution from the National Open University of Nigeria out of the 996 inmates through the efforts of Christ Embassy Church.
While in prison, Eze said he wrote about 157 songs in detention and seven books.
Eze, an indigene of Enugu State, said he was freed on Thursday, May 2, 2019.
He added that he was arrested and sent to the Kuje Correctional Services by some policemen who had approached him sometime in 2005 to serve as a prosecution witness in a case he knew nothing about.
He spoke to journalists at the 14th anniversary Gala of Silver Lining for The Needy Initiative, a non-governmental organisation targeting vulnerable groups in Nigeria.
The Founder of SLNI, Hauwa Abass, said the organisation would continue to assist the needy and fight injustice in Nigeria.
Eze said he was asked to testify against a policeman who had issues with his superiors and appreciated the SNLI for helping him regain his freedom, saying he had already lost hope before the organisation came to his rescue.
He said, “I was sent to prison because of an issue involving a policeman who had issues with his superiors, and they wanted to punish him. Some policemen approached me and wanted to use me as a prosecution witness against him. But I told them that I couldn’t testify against him because I didn’t know anything about the scenario.
“One of the policemen, known as Emmanuel Abazie, told me that I had to cooperate with them unless I would regret it. At first, I thought it was just a mere threat. I never knew it would result in me going to prison. When I got to the prison, they hid my file. I stayed there for four years—no court, no files. It was a long, torturous journey that I had to stay 14 years under awaiting trial.”
Eze said he did not allow his predicament to deter him from furthering his education while in confinement.
He said he sat for the SSCE by the West Africa Examinations Council and thereafter obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Peace and Conflict Resolution from NOUN.
Eze said, “I got seven credits without English. I sat for the exam again the following year, and I got nine distinctions, including English and Mathematics.