A Calabar-based human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mba Ukweni (SAN), has accused aides of Governor Bassey Otu of Cross River State of doing everything humanly possible to use thier political influence to slam a former Special Adviser to Governor Ben Ayade on Cocoa Development and Control, Dr. Oscar Ofuka, behind bars.
The senior lawyer made the allegation on Sunday while reacting to the travails of Ofuka, who is said to be in a coma in one of the hospitals in Calabar.
Ukweni (SAN) stressed that as a lawyer, he would never obstruct justice or prosecution of any individual who had been found wanting, stressing that what he is against is when those in charge fail to follow due process
“They should just pray that nothing happens to Ofuka. Being in government does not make anyone above the law.
“All I expected them to have done is to set up a commission of enquiry to investigate what happened during Ayade’s regime rather than torment the young man the way they are doing to the extent that he slide in coma. What they are doing is totally unacceptable.
“That is not what the law says. In all circumstances, we must always act in accordance with what the law says should be done.
“Our law presumes any suspect to be innocent until the court makes pronouncement of his guilt.
“It pre-supposes that a suspect should be treated with highest level of decency, and respect because sometimes you may eventually find out that the suspect is innocent.
“While not wanting to comment on what is before the court on the basis of subjudice. 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 out that was wrong, he was taken to the Army station at Edor Barracks at Ikom local government of Cross River State,” Ukweni stated.
The legal practitioner attributed the torment being faced by the Ayade’s former aide to allocation of cocoa plots made by the iimmediate-past administration at the Government Cocoa Estate where some officials of the current Otu-led administration were refusing to honour agreement made by the previous Ayade government with Cocoa allottees.
“The present administration can not say whatever agreement the previous administration entered into can not work. Government is a continuum.
“Those agreements were done before the Attorney-general of the State, with receipts from government, paid into government internal revenue accounts, and the present administration is saying it won’t honour the agreement?” Ukweni queried.
However, in reaction to the allegations against them, the Special Adviser to Governor Bassey Otu on Security Matters, Maj. Gen. Okoi Obono (rtd), and Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Prof. Anthony Owan, have both denied involvement in Ofuka’s travails.
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