The wife of the detained Western Bahr el-Ghazal State security advisor, Marko Peter Achor, has renewed her call for her husband’s release.
Speaking to Radio Tamazuj on Thursday, Nicola Akur, Achor’s wife, urged the state and national governments to either release her husband or bring him to court.
Achor, a member of the SPLM-IO led by First Vice President Dr. Riek Macahr, was arrested in Wau last month and transferred to the National Security Service’s Blue House facility in Juba. He was detained alongside Jur River County Commissioner James Ernest Makuei.
Both men were arrested a day after clashes between SPLA-IO forces and NSS agents at the Kubri-Ngab checkpoint in Jur River County, in which an NSS officer was killed and two others injured.
Since their arrest, the two have remained in detention in Juba without access to their families.
“I have nobody in Juba to speak to, but last month, I expressed my concern about him. I don’t know if the government has intervened,” said Akur.
“I don’t know what they are thinking about Achor. He is their colleague in the government. Nobody has spoken about him up to now,” she added.
“I urge them to release him because the current jail conditions are not favorable. Our situation at home with the children is also difficult.”
Akur said none of her husband’s colleagues had visited her or their children since his arrest.
“None of his colleagues have come to see me or the children. They are not standing with Marko’s children or with Marko himself,” she said.
“I am asking them to look into Marko’s case. If he committed any crime, he should be taken to court to face the law,” she concluded.
Stephen Musa Robo of the Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO) echoed the call, expressing concern over the matter.
“On behalf of civil society and CEPO, we are concerned about the commissioner and the state security advisor who were arrested and transferred to Juba, especially during this critical time of political and security tensions in the country. We are particularly worried because they risk being forgotten while isolated from what is happening,” said Robo.
“We join the state and national governments in calling for the release of the security advisor and the commissioner if their case is not criminal. If it involves criminal charges or any complicated matter, they should be handed over to the police for investigation so they can defend their rights,” he added.