…Urges IGP To Wade Into Matter
By Nsan Ndoma-Neji, Calabar
Special Adviser to Cross River State Governor Ben Ayade on Cocoa Development/Control, Ntufam Dr. Oscar Ofuka, on Wednesday raised the alarm, alleging threat to his life by retired Assistant Inspector General of Police, Joseph Mbu, calling on the Inspector General of Police, IGP, Usman Alkali Baba, to wade into the matter.
Ofuka made the allegation while addressing journalists on how he cheated death by the whiskers in the hands of Mbu for failing to report all matters relating to state government cocoa allocation to Mbu.
Mbu and Ofuka both hailed from Etung Local Government Area of Cross River State, where the state government cocoa estate is situated.
The local council had donated the hectares of land that government cocoa estate is cultivated and Ofuka is given given government appointment to superintend over cocoa affairs in the state.
Ofuka alleged, “Mbu wanted to enlist me into his battalion to fight Governor Ayade who is my principal.
“I flatly refused. Hell was let loose. I became the object of the hatred against the governor by Mbu and he went viral, condemning everything about me.
“AIG Mbu had warned me that unless I renounce my support and loyalty for Senator Ayade, he (Mbu) will kill me and nobody can do anything to him.
“What happened on the 16th of this month was a fulfillment of the promise by AIG Mbu to assassinate me.”
Describing Mbu as former big brother, Ofuka stressed that the retired AIG is after him on account of his loyalty to his boss; pledging to stand by his boss and pay the ultimate price, if need be.
Ayade’s aide averred that he was waylaid on that fateful day by the retired AIG around Akparabong farm/Bendeghe Ekiem road by the retired AIG and his fierce looking men, who were all bearing AK-47 riffles.
He said that immediately he approached a certain point, he was accosted by the fierce looking armed men, who ordered him to come out from his vehicle.
Ofuka stated that he asked the gunmen what they wanted from him, but they responded that should step out of his vehicle to see their boss, who stood by one of the Prado jeeps that were parked few metres away from where he was intercepted.
He added, “I became so afraid to come out from my vehicle to stand before Mbu, who was also armed with a riffle.
“The question I asked my self what if Mbu opens fire on me, what will I do now. So I refused to come out from my vehicle. His men pounced on one of my aides, struggling to pull him out from same vehicle I boarded, but with God’s intervention, my driver managed to wind up the glasses of the vehicle, and knowing that we were in big trouble, he automatically put the vehicle on reverse gear and zoomed off back to the direction of Obudu, where we were coming from, trying to find our way back to Calabar.
“Mbu’s men chased us, after our vehicle had made the u-turn. They chase us even when my driver entered Bendeghe Ekiem, my hometown, and I was able to jump out from my vehicle and took refuge somewhere.”
In his release, titled, ‘My Wilderness Sojourn in the Desert Of AIG Joseph Mbu rtd,’ Ofuka averred that his travail started when Governor Ayade appointed him as Special Adviser on Cocoa Development in his second tenure, to pilot cocoa affairs in the state.
Ofuka maintained that Mbu, whom he used to address as “big brother,” approached him, requesting that every matter relating to cocoa activities as far as Etung Local Government Area of the state is concerned, be reported to him and no one else.
Urging the Inspector General of Police, IGP, Usman Alkali Baba, to wade into the issue before Mbu ends up sniffing life out of him, Ofuka recalled that Mbu had in February abducted him and had him flown to the Force Headquarters, Abuja, where trumped up and frivolous criminal allegations of conversion of land, among others, were leveled against him.
He further stressed that attempts were made by Mbu to poison him, but for God’s Intervention which saved him.
Ofuka therefore appealed to the IGP to save his life, especially against the backdrop of the security challenges confronting the country.
When CompassNG contacted the former AIG for his reaction, he said, “I don’t want to talk on that issue. Why would I want to kill him; for what nah? What am I struggling with him? May be he doesn’t know what is worrying him.”
Mbu further stressed that he hopes Ofuka would be able to prove the allegations when called upon to back up his claims with proofs.
