Crisis Rocks C-River Govt-Owned Cocoa Estates

• Allottees drag govt to court
• Ex-Gov’s aide lands in hospital 
• As Gov Otu sues for peace

BY UBON EKANEM, CALABAR – The Cross River State Government-owned Cocoa estates are currently enmeshed in confusion and intractable contention over the rightful parties to manage the sprawling investment hub in the State.

With the interested parties refusing to back down from their claims and disputation, the State government had moved in and dissolved the management committee earlier set up to oversee the affairs of the estates hoping that peace would now reign.

However, far from its expectation, a former Special Adviser on Cocoa Development and Control in the State, Dr Oscar Ofuka, angered by the development, approached the court to secure an injunction restraining the government from further interfering in the affairs of the cocoa estates.

Forefront News reliably gathered that piqued by what competent sources described as “Dr Ofuka’s audacity”, the State government, through the office of the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Prof Anthony Owan Enoh allegedly ordered his immediate arrest and detention on charges of alleged murder, fraud and illegal encroachment on government-owned property.

Insiders conversant with the development hinted that this swift reaction by government caught Dr Ofuka, a former Aide of the immediate past governor of the state, Senator Ben Ayade, unawares as he literally dragged to court on Wednesday, August 7, 2024, by the Nigeria Police operatives despite his reported ill-health.

It was reliably gathered that the prompt intervention of the Chief Magistrate Okoho Otu, saved the day with the Court ordering that Dr Ofuka be taken to the Police clinic for urgent and proper medical attention.

Ruling on the matter, Chief Magistrate Otu, said the Court’s decision was based on humanitarian grounds given that the charges preferred against Dr Ofuka are not bailable offences.

In his reaction to the Court Order, Dr Ofuka’s counsel, Chief Mba Okwenu (SAN) commended the Chief Magistrate for her compassionate position, but alleged that the State governor is being misinformed on the true position of the whole facts of the case at hand.

Chief Okwenu, who explained that his absence in court attributing to the fact that being a Senior Advocate of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, he is not expected to appear before a magistrate court despite the suspect is his client, however expressed satisfaction with the Court’s intervention for now.

However, he said; “The proper thing to do is for the State governor to rely on the existing Ministry of Justice’s memo on the matter which correctly outlines the true position of affairs, instead of the alleged misplaced information by his aides who have vested interest in the affairs of rich cocoa estates investment hub”.

Forefront News recalled that the State Government had in June this year threatened to deal with individuals or groups whose actions are deliberately obstructing the efficient management of its cocoa estates across the state

Consequently, the Governor Bassey Otu-led administration disbanded the suspended Cocoa Allocation Taskforce and Surveillance Team in the four (4) Government-owned Cocoa Estates in Etung Local Government Area set up by the Cocoa Allocation Committee (CAC), including all other groups operating under any guise.

Also, the government’s warning that anyone or group identified as fomenting trouble would face the law came on the heels a law suit filed by over 1,300 plot allottees against the disbanded Cocoa Allocation Task Force Team for illegally evicting them around March 2024.

With the allottees claiming that the government used their money to defray 16 years indebtedness, the Court ruled in their favour to stay on without any harassment, pending the determination of the matter with the next hearing date then was fixed for the 20th of June.

Amid the raging controversy and legal tussle, Governor Bassey Otu had also promised all stakeholders that his administration is committed to seeing an end to unnecessary squabbles and infractions in the management of the State-owned Cocoa estates.