Posted by Richard Peters, the Special Assistant to Governor Udom Emmanuel on Media, has resisted calling back a claim that he made about Senator Bassey Akpan, the Young Progressives Party’s candidate for governor of Akwa Ibom, being released from prison due to health reasons.
Senator Akpan, also known as OBA, was allegedly given bail in the Ikot Ekpene Correctional Facility due to his mental health, according to Peters, who made the assertion during a live television interview.
However, a group from the Senator’s local government operating under the name “Concerned Ibiono Ibom Youths” was offended by the remark and ordered Peters to retract it and apologize to the Senator within 72 hours, failing which, they threatened legal action.
The teenagers promised to take appropriate action if Peters refused, but in a statement that was copied to the police commissioner, they claimed that Peters’ position damaged the senator, who is their son, in the eyes of right-thinking citizens.
Peters claimed that he still stands by his viewpoint in a statement that our journalist was able to acquire from him.
Iniobong Utuk testified on behalf of the applicant (Senator Bassey Albert Akpan) in the vacation court in Port Harcourt, requesting bail. He said that paragraphs 10, 11, and 12 of the applicant’s affidavit supported his arguments.
“The said paragraphs clearly mentioned that the convict was seeking bail on health grounds, and that he had a history of hypertension and diabetes, which the convict/applicant feared might cause his sudden death if he was still kept in solitary confinement at Ikot Ekpene Correctional Facility,” the man claimed. He claims that this is the case since OBA required specialist care and medicine, neither of which could be provided at the Correctional Center.
“When I made the unambiguous claim that Senator Bassey Albert Akpan had been granted bail on medical grounds at a vacation court in the city of Port Harcourt, I was merely stating what I had read from the applicant’s affidavit, which he had submitted to the court, and from the certified true copy (CTC) of the court order, which had granted the bail application as prayed for by the applicant himself, Senator Bassey Albert Akpan.
“I stand by my earlier assertion that OBA’s health was a factor in his bail being granted. As indicated in the affidavit, which expressly requested the court that Bassey Albert is hypertensive, I brought up the subject of mental health.
According to empirical studies, hypertension frequently causes reduced brain blood flow and metabolism. It is thought that these problems impact neuronal metabolism and neurochemical transmission, resulting in impaired brain function.
“Since it causes strokes, this implies that it is a medical illness that has an impact on the brain. Therefore, it is accurate to claim that OBA has a mental case from a clinical standpoint given that hypertension is one of the many illnesses that affect his mood, thinking, and behavior.
“I’ve called you all here to let you know that Senator Bassey Albert Akpan was granted bail on medical grounds, as seen on the court documents I have here to share with you all, and to further maintain my position that what I said at the ABN TV studio was the fact as it appeared in the applicant’s deposition and nothing more. I stand by my statement.”