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Certificate forgery charge, a nightmare for
Duke-Obi Odu
Yesterday,
we ran the first part of Ambassador Akpang Obi-Odu�s interview in which he
traced the genesis of the rift with Governor Donald Duke of Cross River
State. Whereas Obi-Odu and Duke had served as works and finance
commissioners to former Governor Clement Ebri, today there is no love lost
between them. The former Nigerian Ambassador to South Korea provided some
insight as to why the animosity between the duo is skin deep as well as
how he was framed by the incumbent governor and detained by the police at
the latter�s instance. In this concluding part of the interview, the flag
bearer of the National Democratic Party (NDP) in last year�s gubernatorial
polls in Cross River maintains that Duke must answer to queries on his
educational qualification as well as doubts as to the circumstance of
obtaining exemption certificate from the National Youth Service Corps
(NYSC). Obi-Odu also told Group
Politics Editor, Felix Ofou, why attempts to rope him in the death of a
former aide to the governor do not hold water. Above all, he tells us that
the Governorship Election Tribunal sitting in Calabar, the state capital,
would rule in his favour despite intrigues allegedly introduced by Duke to
ensure that the matter is not resolved before the expiration of the second
term in 2007. Excerpts:
How long is
it from Ogoja to Calabar?
From Ogoja to Calabar is about
three hundred and something kilometres and from there to my village is
about 400 kilometres.
How many hours will you
need to...
(Cuts in) Minimum of five hours with the
bad road. So it would not have been possible for me to be in my village
that day and in Calabar that same day. The Chairman of my party, Dr.
Obere, can testify; my deputy, and assistant commissioner of police can
testify, my driver, Paul, can testify. I had a mobile police orderly who
unfortunately is not in the country, but I have been trying to contact
him; he is abroad now for national service. That man can be called by the
police to testify. In fact, he can catalogue my movement throughout
whether I was in the village or not. The facts are
there.
Is it true that you were
treated like common criminal when you were arrested?
Yes. When I was arrested, I
must tell you the truth, I was even told to remove my dresses. I was with
my pants in the police cell. Well, there was nothing I could do. What can
I do? When I was taken to the court, the magistrate court now detailed the
charge against me, remanded me in custody. Then after that, I was
released. The next thing was that I was charged with about 32 other people
for arson. The matter right now is pending at the High Court. In fact, the
running battle that we had is in Ogoja. All I know was that the matter was
transferred with fiat from Ogoja to Calabar, which, from my little
knowledge of law, is wrong. I mean you cannot transfer a matter that
happened in Ogoja to Calabar. All that are planned to punish my people,
more than 30 people.
The aim was all targeted to
ensure that Donald frustrates my efforts in the petition I have against
him in the election tribunal.
Now, you are in the court
with Donald?
Yes.
You have stayed here for a
while. Recently, the magistrate purportedly issued a warrant of
arrest?
Yes.
How did it come
about?
From what I gathered, for some
time, I have said I have been out of this state for about 16 months now.
Because I made a report to the IG since June, July. I have made several
reports that my life is being threatened by Donald. Based on that too, I
have not been served with any court order to appear before any
court.
Donald tried through the
Attorney General. As far as I am concerned, he is the commissioner of
justice and an attorney general of a state and he is supposed to be like a
father for all but he is now working for his master (I do not blame him)
as he now went to try to obtain a warrant from the High Court, but the
High Court�s judge refused because I presented the medical report to him.
Actually, I am not well, I am a high blood pressure patient and I have
been very careful with my health since I came back from Korea. When they
could not get the warrant from the High Court, they decided to go to the
magistrate court and told the magistrate that I had only one month left to
retire in the service. From what I gathered, they harassed him. The man
had no choice but issued a bench warrant which my lawyers are in court now
to discharge.
Unfortunately, with the way I
see the whole thing, the judiciary in Cross River State is just at the
mercy of the Cross River governor. I sympathise with the judges there and
even the chief judge of the state. I really feel sorry because they are
not allowed to do their job. I do not see why I would go to court to try
to discharge a warrant on me and was not discharged. And now, we have to
resort to go to an Appeal Court.
I wanted to ask; was there
a case in the Magistrate Court bordering on the jurisdiction to issuing a
warrant of arrest?
There was no case in the
Magistrate Court, none at all. As far as I am concerned, the Magistrate
Court is an incompetent court to have issued that bench warrant. None, no
matter before it.
Of course, you were aware
that one of Governor Duke�s aides was killed right there in Abube in your
town, perhaps your community. Maybe you can give us an insight because
Governor Duke does not only accuse you, he had also accused your Atam
Congress as being responsible for that killing.
Well, I would speak for
myself. I cannot speak authoritatively for the Atam Congress, because Atam
Congress has their spokesman. So I will speak for myself. I really feel
sad because Donald Isiegbiloh is my direct relation. He is my first
cousin. I have not come out of it, but the fact still remains that I had
made an allegation which I stand by that Donald is after me and wants to
assassinate me.
When I made that report to the
Inspector General of Police, I believe that it is being investigated.
Suddenly, there is a report too that was made by my first cousin
Isiegbiloh that his life was being threatened. I noticed that among the
list of the people he put there, my name was in the list. As a law-abiding
citizen and as somebody whose conscience is very clear, I made sure I
responded immediately. In fact, I wrote a letter to the Inspector General
of Police, alerted the National Security Adviser and distanced myself from
that allegation from my cousin Isiegbiloh. And I also want to state that I
have no arms, I have never threatened anyone in my slightest of dreams or
talked about threatening his life or held any meeting with any group of
people anywhere. Never, never, I can never think of such a
thing.
Unfortunately, just like I
heard because I was not at the scene of the incident, that he went home in
the midnight and was arresting people and was putting them in his car
booth. And there was commotion and his community people came out to rescue
the people he had arrested with the mobile police. I think in the course
of the commotion, there was a shooting. Like I gathered, after the
incident the next day, he was being taken to Calabar for further treatment
when he died on the way.
First, I want to make it clear
even though I am not talking for my community. Isiegbiloh never died in
the village; he died on his way to Calabar. This fact has to be made very
clear, because I have read the newspapers and I do not think the state
government has come out very clearly about telling the truth of what has
happened. This is where I would personally hold Donald Duke squarely
responsible for what has happened, because he is the chief executive of
the state. Donald Duke should be sincere in his mind that �look, I am the
governor, I am not just the governor of a particular group, whether they
voted for me or not. Today, I am governor, if there is crisis in any
place, I will make sure that there is peace there�.
Right from the word go, when
that first incident happened, when the chairman of a community was beaten
to a coma, Donald did not do anything. These things would not have gotten
to this level. I pray to God that in His infinite mercy that there will be
solution to our problems. I want to speak again that I do not have a hand
in what is happening in my village and the unfortunate thing that happened
to my first cousin.
And I also want to say that I
am not running away from the police. If the police call me tomorrow, look
Odu come here and make a statement about this matter, I am not going to
run away. At my level, I mean it would be unfortunate for me to run away
from something that is destroying my community which is being teleguided
from outside. I am not running away from the police like Donald has been
insinuating that I have been running away from the court and that I am
running away from him. I know he is targeting me, he does not wish me
well. If he had the least opportunity, I want to repeat it again, that he
would kill me. That is why I have been running away from the state and
keep my distance from him.
I want to say from all
these accounts that it has become abundantly clear that there is a grouse
you hold against each other, Donald and yourself. What exactly is the root
of this matter? It does not seem like the matter that started today. What
is the root of it?
I do not have anything against
him. It is just the election matter. As I told you, the petition that I
filed at the tribunal against Donald. I am convinced that it is that
petition that is creating that big nightmare for him, because he knows
that is going to be a big blow if he has to leave the government; that is
it. The grouse is that of my petition in court. I do not care about him.
The issue is that of credentials, that he has no degree. That is not my
business. He claimed that he is a graduate just like I am a
graduate.
Well, I was privileged to have
gone to the army and I was commissioned. So based on that, I would not
have done the NYSC. This is a national call that every graduate must
comply with. But it is obvious that he did not do NYSC and I want to be
corrected that the NYSC certificate he has is a forged document, that is
why I am challenging him in court. I believe that is what is disturbing
him. If for any reason he wants any political solution to his problem, he
should come out plainly. We are human beings, but I want to state too that
since after our elections, Donald has not done as other governors did
where they won their elections. The other governors came out and called
their opponents and said, �look let�s settle all the quarrels. I mean,
each governor, each state, like Bayelsa State, the governor there has
settled with those who ran elections with him.
In fact, they are the people
spearheading his projects now in the state. The same with all the other
governors. Maybe it is only the Rivers State where there are lingering
minor problems here and there, and in Akwa Ibom State and so on. Why must
it be that it is in Cross River that the man feels he is the alpha and
omega, that he is saying to hell with all of us?
In the first instance, he
claimed that we were not �contenders�. That was how the first tribunal
threw away the matter with a single stroke that we were not candidates,
that we did not contest.
The second tribunal came in.
They had already started sitting, they heard the case. The matter had been
concluded. They were to rule on the matter but they jettisoned the
matter.
Mine was still on, and there
were substances. They had produced all the documents and everything that
they forged the NYSC certificate, only for the tribunal to wake up the
next day that they could not continue, that their lives were being
threatened just like everybody�s life is being threatened and so they
could not continue. They abandoned the thing and
left.
So we are at the crossroads. We do not know
what the President of the Court of Appeal will do, because I have
petitioned through my counsel, Jemmy Okonkwo Sam that we want a new
tribunal to handle our matter and also we want the venue to be changed,
because I learnt my legal team is being threatened everyday. My
supporters, right now, are being threatened. Once you are seen as an Obi
Odu�s supporter or an NDP member, you are being tormented in the state.
How can that matter be heard? We are in democracy and I also want to state
that people voted, they voted according to their conscience, they voted
for the President, the results are very clear. I think this matter should
be given a fair hearing. But if the powers that be say that a political
solution should be found to these things, Donald himself should come out
clearly and say so. Then we would call our leaders in our state, we would
call our people. Then we will say the way this matter is now is okay. It has to be a
political solution, but not for him to use intrigues and manipulations to
create a very big problem and confusion in the state and then put on Obi
Odu�s head all the confusion that is going on in the state in order to
crucify him. And once Obi Odu is crucified, that is the end of the
election petition.
Since that petition has only
my name, Obi Odu and Donald Duke, once Obi Odu has been destroyed and
buried, that is the end of the case. It is unfortunate, but by the grace
of God, it will never be that way and I want to make it very clear that
the law of karma is there; that those who have created whatever problem in
my community will suffer. God knows that the wind of fire will take those
people and put them in their right place.
All those whose hands are
clean, (I want to make it clear now that my hands are clean) I know that
God will liberate us from the problem. I want a peaceful resolution of the
problem in my community as fast as possible because the whole place has
been devastated.
I want to appeal to the police
that they should go right to the root cause, right from the day the
chairman of the community was beaten. All those who had been accused, all
those who had been mentioned should come out. I am happy that the matter
is being handled in Abuja and not in the state, because the State Police
Command, the state CID, as far as I am concerned, are biased. So I am
happy that it�s being handled in Abuja.
At the end of the day, I want
to also appeal that the Attorney General of the Federation, because the
report has been written to him, let there be a commission of enquiry at
the national level. I do not believe in what Mr. Duke wants to put in
place, saying that they should set up a commission of enquiry. He has
already made up his mind about those who are at fault, those who have
created the problems in the broadcast and so on. He had made all those
pronouncements, what do you expect from that commission? What do you
expect at the end of the day from a biased state CID and state police
command?
Well, I do not blame the
commissioner of police. He has no choice. If tomorrow the governor does
not want him, the governor will ask him out. So the poor man is even there
at the mercy of the governor.
I want to appeal to him that
he is a human being, and his conscience should be very clear, but let the
authority in Abuja have the correct picture of what is happening in my
community and in my state.
I want to thank the people of
community and I want to appeal to them that they should remain peaceful.
There should be no trouble. I am not a troublemaker. I am not power-drunk
or anything. I wish my state well just like I wish Nigeria well. I believe
in the leadership of the President of our country,
Obasanjo.
I want to support him, that is
my own attitude. I remain grateful to him because he has brought me to the
limelight, right from when I entered the army. I was in the Army engineers and it was
somebody like him. who made sure that we went to the university and so on.
I mean I would not have gotten the best of education in my life. And being
an ambassador, not just being an ambassador, but an ambassador in a
country like South Korea, at least I am happy that I distinguished myself
well there for Nigeria. I gave my best. I cannot come home to destroy my
own country, or destroy my own community or my own state or wish anybody
ill-luck.
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