In a deeply troubling incident, Mrs. Chinwe Achugbu, a permanent secretary in the Anambra state Ministry of Women Affairs, has been accused of nearly strangling the Head of Department, Mrs. Nkem, over an undisclosed office issue.
The incident, which took place on Thursday, August 15, 2024, at the Dora Akunyili Development Centre, necessitated the intervention of the state Commissioner for Women Affairs, Mrs. Ify Obinabo, to temporarily restore peace between the two senior officials.
However, the injuries inflicted on Mrs. Nkem were so severe that she was rushed to the Chief Ọdụmegwu Ojukwu University Teaching Hospital (commonly known as Amaku General Hospital) for emergency treatment to save her life.
A source in the ministry has revealed that this was not the first time Mrs. Achugbu exhibited brutal physical aggression towards her subordinates. Many staff members live in fear of these incidents and are hesitant to report the Permanent Secretary’s actions, worried about potential victimization.
“It happened. Everything in that story is true. This is not hearsay; I was there that day, and everything occurred right in front of me,” the source confirmed.
Recall that Mrs. Achugbu was appointed as one of the new Permanent Secretaries by Governor Chukwuma Soludo.
A report by Anambra People say that when the Permanent Secretary was reached for comments, she declined, stating that she was forbidden to speak as a person under authority. She directed the reporter to “go and ask the Head of Service.”
When contacted, the Head of Service, Barr. Mrs. Theodora Igwegbe, acknowledged seeing a post about the incident on social media but mentioned that she had not yet received any official report regarding it.
According to her, even by 7 p.m. on Friday, after working extra hours to clear her desk, she had not received any official communication about the incident.
She reiterated, “Apart from seeing that post on social media this afternoon, nobody has written or informed me about it officially, and I was in my office until about 7 p.m. today.
“So, at the time we left the office around 7 p.m., there was still no official report regarding that incident; I had cleared my desk, and there were no documents left unattended. This indicates that there was no such report on my table,” the Head of Service said.
