A Rivers State woman, Winnie Miller, has rejected N2.5 million allegedly paid into her bank account by the Chairman of Ahoada East Local Government Area, Cheta Epelle, describing the payment as an attempt to bribe her following her claim that she was assaulted by thugs linked to the council chairman.
Miller, who had earlier accused the council boss of leading a group of thugs to attack her, made the latest disclosure in a post shared on her Facebook page.
The controversy began after Miller posted a video highlighting the deteriorating condition of Community Secondary School Odioku, a public school in her community located in Odioku, Rivers State.
According to her, the video drew the anger of the local government chairman, whom she alleged later mobilised thugs who assaulted her over the post.
Providing an update on the incident, Miller claimed that the sum of N2.5 million was subsequently transferred into her account by Epelle as “bribe and compensation” following the alleged attack.
She, however, insisted that she neither requested nor agreed to receive any financial compensation, stressing that the payment would not silence her.
“I cannot be bribed. I never agreed to any compensation,” she wrote.
Miller further disclosed that she has been making efforts to return the money to the sender but has been unable to complete the transaction due to network issues with her bank.
“I have been trying to return the money through the same account it came from, but I have not been able to because the bank network has been failing,” she stated.
The incident has generated reactions on social media, with many users calling for a thorough investigation into the allegations surrounding the reported assault and the circumstances of the payment.
As of the time of filing this report, the chairman of Ahoada East Local Government Area, Cheta Epelle, had not publicly responded to the latest claim regarding the alleged N2.5 million transfer.
The alleged assault and subsequent payment have further drawn attention to the condition of Community Secondary School Odioku, which Miller said prompted her initial video exposing the state of infrastructure in the school.
