Former minister Kenneth Gbagi was sentenced to a N1 million fine by the Delta State High Court in Warri for beating up his hotel staff over a N5,000 theft in Delta State.
The former minister of state for education Kenneth Gbagi, who is angling to become governor of Delta State in 2023 on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, has detained and charged four of his hotel staff members with stealing N5,000.
Gbagi detained the four employees after stripping them naked and taking photos of them within the establishment before turning them over to the police.
According to reports the four employees—a male and three females—were dehumanized before being transported to the Ebrumede Police Station and placed under remand.
A hotel employee disclosed that the former minister had detained some of his coworkers for allegedly stealing the specified sum.
He said, “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 behaviour.”
While giving the names of the arrested colleagues as Gloria Oguzie, Victor Ephraim, Rosslyn Okiemute and Achibong Precious, the source said,
“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 learnt that the dehumanising treatment was instructed by our boss.”
It was also discovered that the hotel management had unlawfully taken money from the four employees’ bank accounts using their ATM cards before the police arrived with a waiting van to pick them up.
After being held for four days, the four employees were charged in Effurun before a magistrate court.
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 offence punishable under section 516 and 390 (9), of the criminal code Law Cap21C Vol.1 Law of Delta State.
According to what has been learned, certain anti-corruption and human rights activists decided to take up the issue, and as a result, the four employees were given bail on Monday.
