Ntufam Mba Ukweni, (SAN), is a Calabar based human rights legal practitioner who believes in due diligence of the law. In this interview Ukweni condemned what he described as unprofessional approach allegedly employed by agents of Governor Otu’s administration to press false charges against former aide to Governor Ben Ayade, on Cocoa Development and Control, Ntufam (Dr) Oscar Ofuka, without following due diligence and process, a situation the legal practitioner said has pushed Ayade’s ex-aide to be in coma for the past 4 days, after he slumped in court.
Below are excerpts from the interview:
We heard that one of your clients, Dr. Oscar Ofuka, a former Special Adviser to Gov. Ben Ayade on Cocoa Development and Control in Cross River state is still in Coma, after he slumped in court and hit his head on the ground?
It’s very sad. I have always maintained as a lawyer, that I cannot be against prosecution of any person who is suspected of having committed an offence. But in all circumstance, we must always act in accordance with what the law says it should be done. Our law presumes any suspect to be innocent until the court makes pronouncement of his guilt. It presupposes that a suspect should be treated with highest level of decency, and respect because you may eventually find out that, that suspect is innocent.
While not wanting to comment on what is before the court, on the basis of subjudice, but this in particular, is when I got to find out that he was arrested in his hometown that he brought army people to intimidate people in the farm, and I went to find out. I found that was wrong, he was taken to the army station at Edor Barracks at Ikom local government of Cross River state. First, they said he was a fake soldier after investigation of the suspect, they found out that the man was a real soldier. The army person was among those persons who were allottees of the government cocoa estate. After thorough investigation, the army man had been released because he wasn’t a fake soldier. He said to me, I am not a fake military man. I got the farm when the government wanted people to pay for farms. And they came and arrested me.
But the issue relating to those things from my own knowledge is before the Inspector General of Police (IGP) in Abuja, and when I met with the Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) in charge of the zone six police station in Calabar, on Thursday, he reliably told me that issues are not in his hands, that he has nothing to do with the cocoa. Some of the matters are before the AIG.
The people disturbing are government. The other time I accused Secretary to State Government (SSG) in trying to recount it, how is he going to recount that himself and the State Security Adviser (SSA), to the governor of Cross River state are the ones, or using them to torment innocent people. We just pray that nothing happens to Dr. Ofuka, because, while we are acting as human beings, there is God, because if he dies today his blood would be on them. That is what they should know. They should just pray that nothing happens to him.
Being in government and making use of the office to achieve the miles stone he had achieved. As Special Adviser to governor of Cross River on Cocoa Development and Control, was a major achievement. A new government cannot come in. If you want to set up commission of enquiry to investigate what happened during his regime that is acceptable in the government. But it cannot deny, the government cannot say whatever agreement, the previous government had entered into cannot work. Those agreements were done before the attorney general, with receipts from government paid into government revenue, internal revenue accounts.
The former attorney general sat and wrote those agreements, after signing agreements you now charged the people who signed the agreement of forging the agreements, how? Like I said they have brought about thirty something charges on them; on that basis that means the people who had filed cases to fight for their rights. They have agreements with the government, and that government should abide by the agreements instead of government pursuing their claims. The case
is in Etung, charged those people for criminal charges against them, start trial that they forge agreement how? We will deal with that when the time comes. But it looks like I said, I’m sorry to say so. It is very very irresponsible for government officials to come and say agreement that government had entered into with predecessor should not be obeyed. And then you start bringing frivolous charges.
The one they brought in high court how is it faring? Even the people, Collins Ogar that made the complaint could not come to testify. We expected them to come out, to be at the federal high court when the petition they wrote to Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). They couldn’t come to prosecute it and defend the petition they wrote EFCC. Is it this one they are going to defend? They said murder charge. The State Security Adviser (SSA) to the governor, and Secretary to State Government (SSG), know the people who killed, it was a fight between the rivalry group of the person appointed by the governor, in charge of cocoa allocation and the team of Secretary to State Government.
They all know that. Instead of going to tell the truth, and face those involved, that incident did not happen or take place near where the government of Ayade allocated to my clients, (allottees who are fighting for their rights). They know that, that matter is before the State Investigation Department (State CID).
The facts before the state CID have nothing to do with these thirty people they are charging with forgery of agreement. Is not close to that area, and the person who owned the farm where the man died, had made a statement. This approach of leaving the shadow to witch-hunt people with criminal charges have to stop. It is not proper. Government should not operate that way. I know previous administration had used that; it shouldn’t become a tradition because it is wrong.
And there are remedies, which people who are aggrieved could avail themselves. We pray that Dr. Ofuka should recover from coma, he is not afraid of standing trial. I have met with Assistant Inspector General of Police AIG who gave me four hours to come back to enable him go through the file but before the four hours is settle, for a matter he said he had no hand in, you now said they were charging him to court.
I am not complaining about whichever way they want to do their work. But I feel that having detained him for this length of time, without charge. Today is Saturday, I don’t know what charge as we were there others were there, I expected that they should have serve us with the charge that they were taking to court for. They did not serve us.
Was it traditional that they ought to have served you people with the charge that they were taking you to court for?
Yes it is traditional that you serve him with the charge or information. That is what takes him to the court. It’s traditional. You go and register the charge. That is why if there is no serving of the charge, you cannot compel the attendant of the defendant or accused person over that.
Did they not know that serving the accused with the charge was necessary?
The charges that were served on us, were the ones of forgery which are before the state high court, saying that they forged cocoa allocation agreements that were duly registered by the office of the attorney general, that money paid into government account, then you charge them with forgery, what sort of fraud is that in government? You collect people’s money and end up charging them to court for collecting their money. You collect people’s money to solve government problems, because they used that money to solve government problems. Government was having problems with landlords communities because rents and royalties were not paid for a number of years. They collected money from these people to enable the government solve the problem. It’s not that the money was collected and eaten by Oscar Ofuka, or his people. No. Government decided there are judgments of court, they had gone to court first and there are consent judgments in places of which those monies of which agreements were entered into. Money paid into the government account where the government took and settled the communities, which provided enabling environment.
What is your message to those having issues with the former aide to Gov. Ben Ayade, Dr. Oscar Ofuka?
My message to them is that they should remember tomorrow. Today is Oscar Ofuka, tomorrow might be them. They are certainly not going to be in office forever. Tomorrow another person would be there, they should know that what goes around comes around. Like I had always advised, things should be done properly in a way and manner that they should have been done.
But people are saying that Ofuka is faking the coma? I have gotten several calls from some persons saying that Ofuka’s coma is fake?
Faking what, Pretending what? Pretending for how many days? Today is the third day and you say is fake. Except they are surprised that the doctors are yet to pronounce him dead. God forbid!.
In Nigeria, Coma is not strange because we have seen circumstances where ex-top government officials who misappropriated public fund feigned coma, what makes you think Ofuka’s case is different?
The incident happened three days ago, as they took him to court, he slumped, probably because of what he might have passed through. You cannot take a man who is up to sixty years of age to four different cells of both the military and the police under two days perhaps without food in his stomach and expect him to withstand the stressed. Even as he is still in coma. Even as I speak, there are policemen at the hospital surrounding where he is lying down at the hospital bed. It means he is still in police custody guiding the hospital bed where he is. So, would he have pretended for this length of time? Nobody would want to pretend for all this time. Oscar was prepared to stand his trial. He is a very courageous person, and he knows his case. He is not a person who pretends. I pray nothing happens to him but for him to recover.
Meanwhile, the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Anthony Owan Enoh and the State Security Adviser, Rtd. Major General Okoi Obono have both debunked the allegations, exonerating themselves of any wrong doing.
