ALLEGED DEHUMANIZING OF HOTEL STAFF IN DELTA: HOW EX MINISTER GBAGI IRKED PUBLIC ANGER, THE POLICE CONNECTION

By Wale Abydeen/Managing Editor// The Inspector-General of Police, IGP M.A Adamu, has called on members of the public, particularly the alleged victims and all interest groups in the ongoing Police investigations into the case of dehumanizing treatment on the Signatious Hotel Staff in Warri, Delta State, to remain calm as the Police intensify efforts towards unravelling the circumstances surrounding the incident.
DCP Frank Mba, Force Spokesman in a statement made available to Investigation Media Group Publishers of SECURITY MONITOR and other titles stated that that the Delta State Police Command has since commenced discrete investigations into the matter with appreciable progress made, assures that justice will prevail no matter whose ox is gored.
Police Investigation became necessary following the outrage occasioned by an alleged inhuman actions meted against some young Nigerians by a former Minister of State for Education and former Chairman of the Nigerian Legal Aid Council , Kenneth Gbagi who owns of Signatious hote in Delta State.
The ex-minister was said to have stripped his staff naked and sent their nude photos to social media for allegedly stealing company’s funds.
Gbagi was also said to have the habits of sacking his workers without paying them. Some social media critics also alleged that the ex-minister used to forcefully takes his staff money and brutalizes them.
From Facebook to Twitter, people’s comments are confirming Kenneth Gbagi is notoriously known for dehumanizing and violating the rights of his staff.
Four former staff of Signatious Hotel namely Mr. Victor Ephraim, Gloria Oguzie, Mrs. Precious Achibong and Roselyn Okiemute Diaghwarhe recently raised the alarm against Gbagi whom they claimed that in his personal capacity and as the Chief Executive Officer/Managing Director of Signatious Hotels & Suites Limited
They argued that until very recently they were staff of Signatious Hotels & Suites Limited, and assigned various responsibilities
The aggrieved hotel staff claimed that on the 30th of August, 2020 while in the ordinary course of their duties at Signatious Hotel welcomed a guest into the Hotel. The guest requested for a room and was given Room 301 which rate was N25, 000. 00 (Twenty Five Thousand Naira) per night. The guest did not have his ATM Card with him and requested to do a transfer to the accounts of one of our clients (Victor Ephraim). The guest stayed for four nights and paid for each day he stayed. The Hotel acknowledged receipt of the four nights that he stayed.
That after the guest’s stay, he gave the staff the sum of N105, 000.00 (One Hundred and Five Thousand Naira) as tips for the good time that he had at the hotel.
That the Hotel did not lose any money neither was any alleged to have been stolen.
It was gathered that after Gbagi, a lawyer who was called to Nigerian bar in 2003 got information about the money his staff were dashed, he summoned them to his office and subjected them to tortuous interrogations in the presence of his armed mobile policemen where he demanded that all the tips given to them must be returned to him.
He was said to have told his staff that they are not entitled to tips, as “all tips belong to the hotel”.
Investigation Media Group Publishers of SECURITY MONITOR learns that on Thursday, the 17th of September, 2020 Gbagi forcibly took the concern staff to the Hotel warehouse and later to his office in the presence and active assistance of the armed mobile policemen and at gunpoint ordered them to pull off their clothes. They were said to have pleaded profusely for his mercy but he showed them none.
One of them Mrs. Precious Achibong, knelt down and cried for Gbagi’s mercy because she is a married woman and no one except her husband was supposed to see her nakedness but to no avail. With the threatening presence of the armed policemen who willingly did the ex-minister bidding, Gbagi allegedly directed his son of 15 years Egba Gbagi, to film and take photos of his staff’s nakedness.
The aggrieved staff who had highbred legal practitioners to file a legal action against Gbagi summoned the other staff of the hotel to see the nakedness of the four staff in question.

Findings reveal that the case of the married woman was more pathetic. She was assigned to the Food and Beverage Department. And that Gbagi alleged that there was a shortage of N1, 000.00 (One Thousand Naira) in her sales for the 18th of September, 2020 and demanded that she returned the money, notwithstanding the fact that she was not the staff directly responsible. But as the Supervisor she promised to return the N1, 000.00.
The woman claimed that at gunpoint, Gbagi forcibly collected their ATM cards and used the Hotel’s Point On Sale (POS) device to transfer all the monies in our clients’ bank accounts. He was alleged to have withdrew the sum of N111, 000.00 (One Hundred and Eleven Thousand Naira) from the account of Victor Ephraim on Friday, the 18th of September, 2020. Same time also he withdrew the sum of N176, 500.00 (One Hundred and Seventy Six Thousand Five Hundred Naira) from the account of Gloria Oguzie.
N5, 000.00 (Five Thousand Naira) was also withdrew from Okiemute Roseline Diaghwarhe which he claimed was what she “stole” from his hotel. Precious Achibong had already under duress, refunded the sum of N2, 000.00 even though the alleged shortage from her daily sale was N1,000.00
However, when Gbagi noticed that the news of his conducts had filtered out to the public and to stave off bad publicity, he called the DPO of the Ebrumede Police Station, Uvwie Local Government to send officers to his hotel to arrest some “thieves”. The Policemen came and arrested the four of them involved and they were detained for 4 (four) days at the Ebrumede Police Station.

They were eventually arraigned in court on frivolous charges of stealing the same amounts he withdrew from their accounts.
Egba Gbagi also posted the nude pictures of the four staff on the Hotel’s staff WhatsApp group and in other social media. The nude pictures went viral and are now on facebook, YouTube and other social media outlets.
It was also gathers that in spite of the gruesome incidents, Gbagi, his son and the armed mobile policemen still threatening his staff and members of their family that he will use his influence and position to deal with them if they dare seek any legal redress.
Further investigations reveal that the Operations Manager, the Safety Manager and some other senior staff of the Hotel have resigned as a result of Gbagi’s acts and are willing to testify against him when called upon.
Meanwhile, Gbagi in a press statement signed by Egba Ederoghene Director, Human Resources of Signatious Hotel which was made available to Investigation Media Group Publishers of SECURITY MONITOR describes the whole story as a futile attempt of political detractors to blackmail him.
The statement stated that “the attention of the management of Signatious Hotel has been drawn to false accusations of staff molestation against our Chairman, Olorogun Kenneth Gbagi, circulating on several social platforms”.

“We wish to categorically state that at no time did Gbagi subject any staff of the Hotel to such humiliation as he is presently bereaved and occupied with preparing for the funeral of his sister who passed away recently.”

“The management also wishes to use this opportunity to inform the public that the staff in the pictures are part of a malicious conspiracy by some political detractors to bring Gbagi’s character to disrepute. This wouldn’t be the first time an attempt has been made to smear the character of our Chairman for whatever reason.

“In the absence of any dirt to nail Gbagi’s pristine reputation, they have descended to mudslinging by concocting fictitious stories to stir emotions and gain public attention.”

“However, what those behind the recent blackmail against Gbagi do not realize is that the employees whom they hand picked for their dirty and poorly executed job were already under investigation by management for conniving to steal huge sums of money from the hotel, some of which have been recovered. Confessional statements to this effect can be obtained from the Ebrumede Police Station.”

“We also understand that a disclaimer has been issued by one Barrister Gladys, who tendered an unreserved apology for being misled by a group of Warri Lawyers used by those behind the blackmail attempt. The lawyer in particular we were informed, retraced her steps when she discovered that the group was being used to malign the character of Olorogun Gbagi so as to serve the political interest of their paymasters”.

“”The management, therefore, calls on the public to disregard such cheap blackmail orchestrated by these desperate detractors deployed to work against Kenneth Gbagi’s governorship ambition.

“Finally, we wish to restate our commitment towards ensuring the highest ethical standards in the hospitality industry in Nigeria, while making it a priority to guarantee the welfare of employees engaged by our organization”.