A former Minister of State for Education, Kenneth Gbagi has been accused of arresting four of his hotel staff and stripping them naked for allegedly stealing N5,000. According to Sahara Reporters, the four staff of the Signatious Hotel, Warri, Delta State ( a male and three females) were stripped naked and photographed inside the hotel before being taken to Ebrumede Police Station where they were remanded in custody.
A source told the publication;
"My boss, former Minister of State for Education and owner of Signatious Hotel, Chief Kenneth Gbagi, arrested four of my colleagues working for him over the stealing of N5,000 from the hotel when actually the N5,000 was given as a gift to them by a guest because of their good behavior" Before they were arrested by the police on Friday last week at the hotel, the four staff were stripped naked while they were photographed in the presence of the police. "We learned that the dehumanizing treatment as instructed by our boss."The four staff of the hotel have been identified as Gloria Oguzie, Victor Ephraim, Rosslyn Okiemute, and Achibong Precious. It was also alleged that the hotel management forcefully made some withdrawals from their bank accounts with their ATM cards before the police took them away in a waiting van. They were subsequently arraigned before a magistrate court sitting in Effurun on Monday, September 21, after four days of detention. In a five-count charge, the police accused the suspects of conniving among themselves to steal monies ranging from N156,000, N110,000, N5,000, and N2,000 owned by Signatious Hotel and committed an offense punishable under section 516 and 390 (9), of the criminal code Law Cap21C Vol.1 Law of Delta State. They were granted bail following the intervention of some anti-corruption and human rights activists who decided to take up the matter. A Warri-based human rights lawyer, Omemiroro Maxwell Ogedegbe confirmed the story and also disclosed that the four staff were granted bail by a magistrate court sitting in Effurun, Delta State.