Concerning the controversial issue of Mrs. Clara Chime, estranged First Lady of Enugu State, human rights advocate, Femi Falana (SAN) has said that he took her brief without charging any legal fees after being contacted by several of her friends and relatives.
He noted, “There isn’t much to put on record as far as Mrs. Clara Chime’s case is concerned. Although I do not require the permission or written authorization of a victim of human rights abuse to intervene I was instructed by Mrs. Chime to take up her case. She never disowned me. What she said at the nocturnal press briefing by Governor Sullivan Chime was that she did not contact me directly but that a friend might have done so on her behalf. That statement cannot be faulted. Mrs. Chime sent an e-mail to one of our friends and directed her to contact me.
The e-mail was forwarded to me. Her mother, Mrs. Patience Igwe also sent me an SOS to free her daughter from detention. I took up the brief without charging professional fees. In actual fact, I took pity on Mrs. Chime and requested the Inspector-General of Police to free her from illegal detention. It is interesting to note that Governor Chime confirmed the allegation that he had detained his wife. In a desperate bid to justify the illegal detention he said he did it in
her own interest. As if that was not enough the governor said his wife was mentally challenged. For goodness sake there was no basis for such defamatory statement. To the best of my knowledge, Mrs. Clara Chime is not suffering from mental disability. She is logical and sensible in her reasoning. Happily, we have succeeded in liberating her and she is now enjoying her freedom.”