INTERVIEW: Jonathan spent $4 Million fighting ‘Bring-Back-Our-Girls’ campaign – US-based lawyer

Emmanuel Ogebe, a US-based human rights lawyer and humanitarian worker,

missed death by the whiskers under the late General Sani Abacha’s dictatorship for his outspokenness against the government. He fled to the USA upon his release and has since remained there, practicing as a lawyer, engaging the US government and other international organizations on foreign policies and aids for Nigeria.

Mr. Ogebe has been involved in relief and rehabilitation for victims of the various attacks and through his NGO, Education Must Continue, provides educational opportunities for hundreds of children in the North. 

Since 2014 when over 200 girls were abducted from the Chibok Secondary School in Borno State, his life has taken a new and drastic dimension. Rather than restrict himself to advocating via the #BringBackOurGirls campaign, he took a practical step of taking 10 of the escaped girls to the US to continue their education. Benue State-born Mr. Ogebe, a father of two, has since taken on the role of father to the 10 girls as well as a few other similar victims he had also taken to the US before now.

In this interview with PREMIUM TIMES’ contributing writer, BETTY ABAH, at Virginia, USA, Mr. Ogebe, speaks on the challenges of catering for the Chibok girls, difficulties accessing government’s support, on Nigeria’s new-found democracy among other things.

 PT: How long have you been in the US?

Ogebe: I have been here since the 90s, I am a product of the Abacha era’s persecution of Human rights workers and activists. So after my imprisonment by Abacha I went abroad on exile.

PT: How long were you in Prison?

Ogebe: I was arrested by Abacha in June of 1996 and I came back in August 1996. It was a short but intense one.

PT: Were you tortured?

Ogebe: I was, and I was directly held in the villa for a while before I was moved to detention in Asokoro.

PT: Did you fear for your life at the time?

Ogebe: There was no doubt because I was directly under the captivity of Major Al-Mustapha. Those who made it to the villa, if you remained in the villa as a prisoner, your likelihood of coming out was very remote. In fact, nobody knew where you were – nothing! The SSS and different arms of government were approached by my family members looking for me. They didn’t know where I was. It was the most maximum detention imaginable, where other security agencies didn’t know where you were.

PT: So you were tortured everyday?

Ogebe: Not every day but it was the week before June 12 so as paranoid dictatorships go, they were edgy. There was torture and interrogation but on June 12 they had to focus on more pressing issues.

PT: At that point, what was going through your mind?

Ogebe: I was resolute in my mind that military dictatorship was wrong for Nigeria, was wrong for any civilised people and for humanity. So the torture was not going to change my perspective on the ideal. It was only a question of whether I was prepared to pay the ultimate price for my convictions.

 PT: By knowing that you could die any moment, what really was on your mind?

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